Peregrine Wings
by cherryblossomx6
Summary: When Erwin Smith recruited twin criminals from the underground, he only seen them as tools to help achieve his dream. They were cocky and shrewd, unyielding like barbaric dogs, kids in adult bodies. They always dragged him into their "games." However, they were also capable of making him laugh, settle back, and the youngest of the two... she was able to make him say "I love you."
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello. :D**_

 _ **I've had this idea for a while in my head and thought I would share it with everyone!**_

 _ **This story will be taking place just before the 104th Training Corps begins.**_

 _ **I plan on making this an Erwin Smith x OC story.**_

 _ **I apologize for any errors and if any of the characters seem OOC, but I hope you enjoy!**_

❤ Thank you for reading. ❤

❤•○●○•❤

I have wings, but what good are they if they can't stretch to their full length? No matter how high I get off the ground, there is always a barricade above my head. There is no breeze to glide on, no wind to guide me, just motionless and stagnant air that keeps me in the same place. Down here, I'm a tethered bird. I'd rather be a tethered bird than a flightless one.

Many would say the underground city is a cage, however, I consider it jail. The only way to get to the surface is up the heavily guarded stairwell. The Military Police reside there, only allowing you passage when you hand over loads of cash. Cash nobody has or can get. We are trapped down here, destined to wither away and die.

The lack of sunlight makes people's legs grow weak overtime, weak to the point they are useless. After that happens they are immovable and stuck to the muddy ground like glue. They're sitting ducks. Criminals then swoop in and do away with them in the sickest ways imaginable.

I've never seen sunlight, never seen plants of any kind or grazing animals, never seen natural bodies of water. All my life all I've known is dirt and decaying buildings. The closest thing I've seen to another species other than humans are dogs and sub-terrestrial bugs.

We may as well be considered bugs to the people on the surface. They know we are down here, the Military Police guarding the stairwell is proof of that. I know they are aware of the countless and different crimes down here, as well as the lack of food and fresh water, yet they don't do nothing to assist. The words "helping hand" might not be in their vocabulary.

I despise the Military Police just like I despise my father. When my mother fell ill he left her along with my twin brother and me. She passed shortly after that which left me and my brother to fend for ourselves. We used to rely heavily on my father. I don't have the slightest clue where he is right now and nor do I care. It doesn't matter.

I've spent my entire life down here. Years of watching murder and inevitable death claim people. I've seen it so much I'd like to say I'm used to it. I should be, but each time it still makes my stomach churn in the most sickening way. My insides may ache but on the outside I'm unmoved. People may call me heartless for that. That also doesn't matter. They are only peering at the outer shell of me.

I delicately flip a page of a book resting in my lap. Reading is my only escape from this musty city. There are very few books down here. This book is the only book I own. It's about the surface. It's filled with information and descriptions of unimaginable things.

There are five oceans. Five massive bodies of saltwater that stretch farther than the human eye can see. The water is made up of different shades and tints of blue, like a mirror against the equally blue sky. In some cases the water appears green. I close my eyes, trying to imagine. However, bright colors are way beyond my imagination.

I hear a whoosh, a thump, then sense a familiar presence beside me. A smile gradually creeps onto my face. Looking over is not necessary to know who is beside me. Despite that, I turn my head and my eyes are met with amber ones. Those eyes belong to Silas Rose, my beloved twin brother. He's my best friend and the one person I'd give my life for.

His coppery eyes reflect mine. I can distinguish each and every tiny speck of red and gold in them. Our hair both share the same ash brown color. His hair is short and shaggy while mine reaches my waist. I tend to tie half of my hair back, leaving the rest of it down and letting my bangs frame my face. We are a mirror imagine of each other. The only difference that used to irk me is that he's a few inches taller. However I'd like to believe that fact makes me more agile than him.

Silas and I grew up together and spend all of our time with one another. We don't know anyone else or bother to get to know anyone. We share a very tight bond, a bond beyond people's beliefs and imaginations.

"Same book?" He questions. I nod and close the book before handing it over to him.

"It's the only interesting one." I answer, bringing my knee up and resting my cheek against it. Silas opens the book. I watch as his eyes roam across the lines of words.

"Yeah." He agrees after a moment before looking straight ahead. I follow his eyes and am left staring at the stairwell leading to the much brighter world above. "Do you think we'll ever see it? The ocean, the sun?"

"As things are now, I'm not sure." I comment honestly.

"You know, we can easily get up those stairs." He looks at me suggestively. "The Military Police have never been a match for us."

"True." I laugh, lowering my knee. "We'd have an even bigger bounty over our heads if we do that."

"Like that matters. Everyone knows about us already." He says with a smirk, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

"We are only well known down here." I say, standing up and stretching my limbs. "That's why we are going for it tonight though, right?."

"Right." Silas stands up along with me.

We begin walking across the rooftop, our stolen 3D Maneuver Gear clinging with each step. Military Police seem to have an addiction to alcoholic beverages, which makes snatching things from them even more like child's play. The 3DMG are my wings. It's the only thing that makes me feel the tiniest bit free in this rotten wasteland.

The gear is like a harness that straps over most of my body below my neck. Gizmos involved with the gear include grapple hooks, hand grips which function as the operating device—as well as the hilt to blades, gas powered mechanism, and iron wire propellers. Hanging at my thighs are metal boxes that are primarily used for storing blades. The gas tanks are secured on top of them. Without gas, I can't fly. I only have two pairs of blades with me. Although I am skilled with them, I hardly use them. I'm more fond of using bow and arrows. However, Silas doesn't use a bow. He's more fond of is using his blades.

I pull the hood of my dark cloak up along with Silas. Our rooftop walk doesn't last for long. Figures standing a good amount of rooftops ahead stop us. My head cocks to the side slightly. It's the Military Police. They are staring dead at us. Their targets for arrest. One of them is staring at us through a spyglass. Me and Silas smirk simultaneously, unable to help ourselves. Each time we faced this group we considered it a game, nothing else.

"Well this is new." Silas begins, attaching two blades to his hand-grips. "They've never waited for us before."

"I wonder why they are so bold today?" I muse, my tone hinting that I really don't care for the answer.

Reaching behind my back, I unstrap my metal bow and grab an matching arrow. Over the years I've tinkered with my bow. I don't consider myself a genius at all, but I've managed to attach a gas tank to my bow along with a spring with Silas's help. We didn't have the slightest clue what we were doing, but we upgraded this bow from a normal one to a dynamic one. To be honest, our boredom gets the better of us.

My arrows travel faster than average. As long as I can see my target, I can snipe it in the blink of an eye. My eyes catch movement behind the Military Police. These people are dressed similar but have on green cloaks. Their hoods are up, concealing their faces much like me and Silas are doing.

"Who are they?" I ask, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Higher ups maybe?" Silas guesses. "Either way, it doesn't really matter."

"We're letting them join our game?" I question in false innocence.

"Of course, Ren. Life is a game and we all must play it." Silas twirls one of his blades. His amber eyes narrow determinedly. "They are in our way today. We can't go to the surface if we are caught. This game needs to be taken seriously."

"I agree." I raise my bow, aligning an arrow with it and pulling the stiff string back.

Easily I can feel my arm muscles flex. Composedly I hold my breath, making my body go completely still. The tension grows in the arrow the longer I hold it. They are about two kilometers away. Closing one eye, I lock on to my target and release the arrow.

The arrow cuts through the air fleetly. It travels in a perfectly straight line before it impels the spy glass the Military Police was holding. The arrow has hit dead in the center of the glass. _Bull's eye._ The owner of the spyglass has to quickly drop it so he doesn't turn into the victim of my arrow. I lower my bow with a fulfilled smile.

"See?! They aren't normal!" The Military Police's voice echoes faintly in our direction as he roars and rages loudly. Silas chuckles.

"They catch on quick." He muses as I grab another arrow.

"That they do." I smile, pulling the string of my bow back past my ear before taking careful aim once again.

It's true that me and Silas aren't exactly normal. Our eyes can see great distances ahead of us with absolute detail in the dark or light. Aiming has come natural to us both too. It takes me little time at all to zero in on and shoot whatever my target may be. Our mother has had the same trait and it has been passed down onto us. I wish Silas would use a bow every once in awhile, but close combat is more of his proposed style. Skill-wise overall, me and Silas are even.

"Should I take out their equipment?" I ask, closing one of my eyes. My lashes brush against my cheek almost like a silky feather.

"Yes." Silas nods. "We can't afford to let those higher ups get close. They may not be much more skilled than the regular MP, but we shouldn't take any chances."

"So I'm doing all the work today?" I narrow my eyes, my tone displeased yet teasing.

"I did all the work last time while you sat and watched." He reminds me. I roll my eyes at that fact.

"Yeah, yeah." I quip. I wait for the Military Police and the newcomers to shoot their grappling hooks forward before releasing my arrow.

I take out the closest targets first which is the regular Military Police. They are approaching head on like always. It's a reckless act against us. I release my arrow before drawing and shooting three more. My arrows successfully cut through their wires and they let out a wail as they tumble to the dirt below. I ready another arrow but don't release it. I find myself lowering my bow a bit.

"Those new guys, their movements are different." I cogitate. They glide through the air with fluid grace instead of choppily like what I'm used to seeing. Shooting their wires will actually be easier. I raise my bow again and shoot. The person in the front leading the assault raises his arm, and the four of them break their formation and go separate ways. They are flying closer to the ground and out of my sight, using the buildings for cover. For the first time ever I miss my target. Their break in formation caught me off-guard. I underestimated them.

"...This could be a problem." Silas speaks as I look over at him. I sigh and re-strap my bow to my back with a slight nod.

"They are more smart and calculating. My arrows won't be of much use from right here. I have to be higher up to have a visual."

"On top of that, they have split up and could approach us from any direction at any second." He speculates.

We both peer at each other in seriousness. Abruptly, we both suddenly have identical and enthusiastic grins on our faces. I draw my blades and we take off into a sprint along the rooftop. Finally we have a challenge. We leap off the rooftop.

Gravity takes over brief moment. My stomach lurches from the drop and my heart hammers loudly in my chest. I spread my arms out wide as if they were wings and shoot my hooks forward. They bury themselves into buildings ahead, then, I'm soaring. I can't contain my laughs as I flip through the air. I perform many twists and twirls, flying over the people below in a blur. Silas zips over so we are flying side by side.

"We've never lost a game before, so let's not start now." He smirks, eyes glinting intently.

"Of course." I smirk right back. "We'll be sticking together as always? That's when we are at our best."

"You watch my back and I'll watch yours." He nods in agreement.

We both fly low like the higher ups are doing, intending to throw them off even the slightest bit and let them know getting us won't be easy. Our eyes carefully scan our surroundings as we fly rapidly. Only when we both cooperate, we can link or vision. Silas's eyes catch fast movement from my right.

"Got it." I inform and retract my hooks to prevent them from getting sliced through by my attackers dual blades. I spin in a circular motion at an angle, my blades aiming for the wires that shot in front of me which were aiming to cut me off. My teeth grit as the person's wires retract like mine. Their body maneuvers out of my striking range and falls back behind me. They are still in the air.

"Wow! That was close!" The person who attacked me giggles. Her voice is feminine. I look over my shoulder to see gleaming glasses underneath her green hood. "Very impressive!"

From her tone and her enthusiastic giggles, it's almost like she's treating this as a game as well. I glance down at my blades before looking forward again. For her to be able to dodge my attack makes her very skilled. The others must be just as skilled if not more skilled. Today's game really is a challenge. My eyes flicker to the left.

"Si," I warn. He nods and launches himself higher into the air to dodge swift slashes. This new figure is short. I hear him curse in annoyance right after Silas has dodged his blades. This short newcomer is now flying by my side. I can make out naturally dull and intimidating blue eyes from beneath his hood. They are narrowed as he glares at me. I can't shake off the fact that he looks familiar.

He shoots his hooks towards me and charges with more than impressive speed. I gasp, narrowly dodging his powerfully spinning blades. My body rotates through the air as I evade. I shoot my hooks off the the side, going down a different path. Silas does the same and we both reemerge, flying above the same dirt road.

"Levi, you missed!" The girl calls out in shock.

"I won't miss again." He growls, picking up his speed and gaining on us. "Little shit-heads."

"Such colorful language…" I whisper under my breath in distaste.

Never was I fond of such language. There are plenty of other words in the dictionary to chose from. I start traveling through the air faster until I'm side by side with Silas. I'm beginning to feel more uneasy. Those other two higher ups haven't shown themselves yet.

"Silas, we can't shake them off. Should we attack?" I ask.

"It seems we have too." His jaw clenches a bit anxiously. "If I launch you up, can you shoot them down?"

"I'll try my best. If not, it'll at least throw them off." I shift closer to him and hold out my hand. "If you manage to lose them, go hide in that one building. The one with many secrets and mysteries."

"Oh." He replies after a moment. He knows of the place I'm talking about. "What if they are still after you?"

"I'll go through that dark passage. Only we can see where the tunnel leads and let out."

"Sounds good. Ren, you better not get caught. If you do I'll be livid." He grabs my hand.

"I won't. I promise. We still have places to see and visit."

"Oi! Brats! Stop talking like we aren't here!" The short one which I now know as Levi calls out from behind us angrily.

"Sorry. It's just you aren't very interesting to us." Silas calls back, making him fume.

"But don't worry, we won't ignore you any longer." I add on.

"Oh, they are presumptuous!" The girl with the glasses giggles some more with rosy cheeks. The short guy seems to be growing more irritated each time she giggles. However, he seems more irritated at me and my brother's mockery.

Me and Silas both retract our hooks and turn to each other with a nod. I take in a breath before we both release gas from our tanks, rapidly spinning in an yin-yang like formation while staying airborne. Silas grasps my hand tighter and launches me high in the air with a grunt. I'm fleeting towards the cave's jagged ceiling. The rushing of air in my ears blocks out all other noise as I reach over my shoulder for my bow and arrow.

I twist through the air and arch my body as my launch begins to slow. I angle myself so I am now facing the city below, allowing gravity to do it's magic and let it plummet me headfirst towards the ground. I ready my arrow, squinting down at the city. I could see Silas a good distance ahead of the higher ups. From my position, I can also see the two other people who haven't taken action against us yet. They are approaching from the front and trying to trap Silas. I won't let that happen.

I may not be able to hit their wires but I can throw them off and create a path for Silas to escape through. One of the people who are approaching from the front of Silas has his eyes on me. I can make out their striking blue color. Too bad he's my opponent. I would admire them for a little longer if I could. It's the brightest color I've ever seen. Is the ocean that color? I shouldn't distract myself with such petty things, especially at this moment.

As quick as I can, I shoot arrows downwards. My aim is directed in front of each person or at their wires connected to their grappling hooks. You can only focus keenly on one thing at a time. Their focus is drawn away from Silas and towards me in order to dodge my pointed weapons. I smile, seeing Silas slip away through a window. The short one and the girl with the glasses follow him but they are delayed. Silas will give them the slip. I know he will. He's always been surreptitious.

The man with the blue eyes and his partner slow down, waiting for me to drop into their range. I'm not foolish enough to do that. They have already proven themselves to be seriously skilled. I switch out my bow for my blades and shift my body while releasing gas from my tanks. I soar over a good amount of buildings in the opposite direction before flying low to the ground.

I mentally urge Silas to let me tap into his vision so I can see his current position. Feeling my tug, he let's me. Through his eyes, I can see he made it to the building I was referring to earlier. I call it the building of secrets and mysteries due to the many hiding places in it. It seems he has chosen to hide underneath the floorboard beneath a rug and table. He's safe. No way will those other two be able to find him.

My attention is drawn to the side when I hear crumbling. I compare the sound to something plowing through brick. That is exactly what I see. My eyes widen and I have to bring my blades in an "X" shape in front of me. This is the guy I have yet to see. He has blonde hair along with a dark mustache and beard.

I find myself blanching at his almost inhuman strength. His body rams into mine, sending me crashing through a nearby window in a frenzy. My body skids against the old wooden floors. Just as I press my hands against the floor and swiftly push myself onto my feet, his body shoots through the window. He destroys the wall surrounding it too. Does this guy have super strength? His nose twitches as he sniffs the air deeply before charging at me. His teeth are bared like a wild animal setting out to kill. I am the prey.

He swings his blades and I counter by mimicking his moves. Our weapons clash with a loud and metallic clang. I glare daggers at him from under my hood. I will not lose this fight. My goal is to get back to Silas and that is what I am going to do.

Our blades clash multiple times. He ducks under my swings and I duck under his. Blood is pumping rapidly through my body, adrenaline swimming through it. This fight has to be the most thrilling one I've ever been in. Although I'm having fun, I have to end this quick before any of his partners show up. With Silas hidden away, I don't have the extra set of eyes watching my blind spots.

My eyes dart to the side, noticing a trash bin. I elude another one of his strikes and run over to it and grab the lid. He thrusts his blade forward and I use the tin lid as a shield. His blade impales the lid and I twist it, hoping to disarm him. I disarm him successfully, however, it doesn't do much.

He keeps charging forward and I stumble backwards at his weight crashing into my much smaller form. He slams me against the wall. I grit my teeth as the back of my head bashes painfully against the brickwork. I push off the wall with a grunt and duck behind him, kicking his back so he face plants into the wall.

He recovers faster than I anticipated. I gasp as he jabs the handle of his blade into my abdomen, causing me to stagger back a couple feet. The back of my foot makes contact with uneven floorboard. Then, I'm falling backwards. I fell through the giant hole he had created in place of the window. I keep myself calm, taking in a steady breath.

I adjust my body so I'm right side up. Before my body can go splat onto the ground, I discharge gas from my tanks. The gas alone was powerful enough to stop my fall. I somersault backwards when my feet touch the ground and grab an arrow along with my bow, wasting no time to aim it above.

The person I was fighting before was diving down towards me. His eyes enlarge for a split second, from what I presume to be panic. His nose then twitches as if he could smell a home cooked meal, and a smirk appears on his face. That gives me the hint that his buddy has shown up. I hear a thump beside me. I'm right.

My eye twitches in annoyance as a blade slices my arrow in half, making it useless. Getting arrows is a complete hassle. To say I am displeased would be an understatement. His buddy grabs me roughly by the strap on my back. _The strap that holds my arrows._ He's about to slam me against the wall. That would be the second time that has happened to me today.

Thinking quickly, I let my body go limp to his bewilderment and slide out of that portion of my strap, successfully getting out of his hold. My arrows spill onto the ground below as a result. Even more displeasure swarms in me. Having no arrows, my bow is useless. I make it useful and fling it towards them to buy time. The bow is actually heavier than it looks.

Turning on the balls of my feet, I sprint as fast as my legs can carry me and launch my grappling hooks forward before taking flight once again. Having less weight to carry, I travel faster through the air. I glance behind me to see the two people in close pursuit. Clearly having less weight doesn't mean I can't outrun them. Silas is still hidden away. I can sense his worry for me though. My eyes shut.

My gas is running low. I didn't refill my tanks this morning. My eyes barely catch one of the tunnels that stretch in many different directions below the underground city. I twirl my blades, retracting my hooks and shooting them backwards. The two behind me have to maneuver out the way from getting struck by them. It's now or never.

I quickly launch myself back towards them, my blades twirling along with my body dangerously. They hit against the man with the dark mustache's own blades. He's thrown off course. I adjust my body so I'm moving towards the darkened tunnel. A hook that isn't my own tangles into my flowing cloak. I pale.

Who ever is the owner of that hook goes tumbling roughly into the underground passage with me. The roughness of our entry causes some of the cheaply made building above to crumble. Many bricks and sticky mud block the entryway we came through, as well as blocking off the already few light.

I wince at the weight atop of me. My arms are pinned above my head and a blade is held to my throat. The tiny amount of light that seeps through the heavy bricks and mud aims at my eye, highlighting it in the dark.

I look up to see it is the man with blue eyes who is responsible for my less than graceful entry. His hood is down, making his neatly parted blonde hair easier to see. His facial features are angular and his eyebrows are quite noticeable. Overall, he is a handsome man. Those captivating blue eyes of his are locked onto mine, gazing into them deeply. We just stare at each other.

My eyes narrow indifferently at his intense staring. He's staring at my eyes like they are the only thing he sees. Then it clicks. His eyes aren't as advanced as mine. They really are the only thing he sees. The small amount of dim light shining down here is blocked. I turn my head to see a gray eye peering in here. It's the guy with the mustache. He can't see us.

"Erwin?" He questions while sniffing loudly. I silently look back at the guy pinning me down. So that is his name.

"Dig us out." Erwin commands, still looking down at me. I wiggle my wrists in his grip experimentally, making him tighten his hold on them.

"Alright."

I hear the man above moving the bricks around. My body relaxes into the soggy ground below me, knowing this is going to take a while. I'll take this time to plot my escape. The calmness I'm displaying seems to intrigue my captor.

"You're quite calm." He speaks. I only nod my head in response. He can barely make out that gesture. Slowly, he lowers his blade from my throat. "You can see me clearly?" I nod once again. The sound of two thumps on the other side of the rubble catch our attention.

"What happened, Mike?" I recognize that girl's voice from earlier. "Erwin is down there?"

"Are you alive?" Levi yells through the brick. Erwin sighs at his bluntness.

"Yes. I have caught the archer. Were you successful?"

"No." Levi replies, sounding beyond irked. I smile at this information.

"That's fine though! We can use the archer to draw him out! I can't wait to experiment with their eyes…" The girl gushes, voice gradually growing more quiet as she starts talking to herself. "Oh. Is this the bow she uses? How interesting..."

My head turns in the direction of their voices at that. I conclude that the man that sniffs a lot picked up my bow after I threw it. The organ in my chest sinks now that I know my bow is in their possession. I was really fond of that bow. The ceiling above us suddenly shakes.

"Don't dig anymore! The building above will collapse!" The girl warns seriously. Her words are true. I refuse to die in such a pathetic way.

"What the hell do we do then?" Levi demands. Erwin looks down at me.

"Do you know another way out?" He asks.

"...Yes. We just need to walk further down this path." I turn my head, looking in the opposite direction of the caved in opening. My tone is soft. Anyone would mistake my tone for a scared and helpless little girl. That's what I'm aiming for.

He nods, cautiously releasing me so I can sit up. I stand up and grab his wrist to lead him through the pitch black pathway. I stare at him, waiting for him to give me the signal that he's ready to go.

"There is another way out." Erwin informs his teammates. "I will be up there shortly."

"Hurry up." Levi dismisses.

Erwin nods at me and I start leading him down the dark path. My eyes widen slightly when he removes his wrist from my grasp and takes mine tightly in his instead. I blink a couple times.

"Your innocent act back there was clever." He informs me. Barely I catch the faint amusement in his bright eyes. So my act of helplessness didn't work. These people definitely are more smart than the average Military Police. Who are they really?

"Whatever. I'll go to great lengths to get back to those I care about." I speak, thinking of Silas. I need to get back to him. He's getting antsy. Why do I sense him so close? I come to a stop in my walk and turn my head with wide eyes. He's here.

"Just like I'm going to great lengths to get my sister back from Military Scum." Silas makes himself known. He's coming down a different pathway. Erwin's grip tightens on my wrist almost painfully. Maybe if Erwin was able to see he would have a chance in beating us both, but he's blind down here. We have a major advantage.

Silas bolts over. He doesn't have his blades drawn. His fists jab into Erwin's arm, hitting certain points to make him release me. I stumble a bit and Silas steadies me, pulling me away from Erwin. Instead of fuming like most would probably do, he's grinning like he has discovered something extraordinary. That smile makes me shiver and not in a good way. I turn to Silas.

"I appreciate your help but I thought I told you to stay hidden." My lips purse together.

"I seen you were in trouble so I came for you. You're welcome." He smirks. "You almost got your first loss."

"Ha," I can't stop myself from laughing a bit. "Thanks."

Me and Silas start jogging down the pathway he came down. I bring my hood down. The air is even more mucky and warm in these tunnels. I look over my shoulder at Erwin. He's in the same spot, a smile no longer on his face. Now he actually looks at a loss. Silas knows what I'm thinking and looks over his shoulder too. We aren't the type to leave someone to die.

"Hey." I call out to Erwin. His body isn't facing us, but his eyes move in my direction. "The direction you're facing, just continue down that way and there will be an exit you can't miss."

"I have to admit it, you and your teammates were formidable opponents." Silas adds on. "A great addition to the game of life."

"It was fun." I admit, looking back forward. "Farewell."

Erwin merely stares after us, his eyes calculating and somewhat surprised. When me and Silas get out of earshot, I look over at him with a grin.

"Why were we speaking in overly formal tones?" I ask, my eyes sparkling.

"I'm not sure. But it fit the situation." He laughs. He then looks at me curiously. "Where is your bow and arrows?"

"Gone and never to be seen again." I sigh sadly. "That's alright though. We have to make our move now while he's trapped down here. I gather he is their leader due to how he commanded that other dude."

"Right. Well then, let's get going." Silas smiles widely.

We start running down the dark path, our shoes occasionally sinking into muddy puddles. There is excitement bubbling up inside me. Tonight we are really going for it and there will be no turning back. We follow the many different paths before the exit comes into view. This exit is the one close to the stairwell. The both of us crouch down, getting a game plan together. Me and Silas peek up.

There are three Military Police officers. Two of them are snoozing in chairs with bottles of beer held loosely in their hands, and one of them is awake and standing directly in front of the stairwell. With two of the three sleeping, this won't be hard at all. Silas looks to me.

"How are your gas tanks?"

"Dangerously low." I answer. "Yours?"

"I'm fresh out." He responds. His hands start fiddling with his 3DMG straps. "I think we should ditch these for now. We'll draw even more attention up there if we have this."

"I agree." I start undoing my straps and removing the gear. "If the Military Police up there are anything like the ones down here, we can get more gear easily if we need to."

"Yeah. Don't get distracted by pretty eyes." Silas gives me a teasing grin.

"I won't." My cheeks shade themselves a fiery pink. So he noticed. "They just were the brightest color I've seen. From here on out, I'll only see brighter colors."

"That you will." Silas nods his head. "Alright, quick and stealthy is our game plan now. Ready?"

"Ready."

We both silently crawl out of the hole. Our eyes look around in all directions, our vision linking together. The higher ups aren't anywhere in sight. Judging from how long the tunnel is I told Erwin to go down, they will be showing up soon. Me and Silas exchange a nod and sneak over to the edge of the large and brick stairwell.

Silas presses his back against the wall with a slight bend in his knees. He cups his hands together in front of him. I hurry forward and press my foot into the palms of his hands. With a inaudible grunt, he boosts me up. My fingers curl tightly around the edge of the brickwork as I pull myself up. I smile widely. _I'm on the stairs._ We are so close.

With light feet, I move down the steps and position myself behind the Military Police officer. I raise my fist in front of me and jab my knuckles as hard as I can into his nape. He drops unconscious. My eyes dart cautiously between the two slumbering officers. They don't stir. The overpowering smell of alcohol makes me take a guess that they'll be sleeping for a while. I wave Silas over. He jogs up the steps, looking as excited as I've ever seen him. He grabs my hand and we both run up the steps like children running to a toy store.

We reach the top of the stairs and the freshest air I ever breathed in fills my nose. We both crouch down when we see more Military Police. There are two standing on either side of the entryway. Silas nudges me, making me look over in his direction. He gestures for me to stay put and runs ahead. My eyes widen at his bold and audacious actions. In little to no time, he renders the Military Policemen unconscious. I scurry after him. Silas catches my stumped look.

"What? You always have my back." He grins.

"You just caught me off guard." I cross my arms, looking down at the sprawled out M.P.

"Don't look down," Silas says. My eyes move over him. He's pointing up. "Look up."

I tilt my head back, looking up at a completely new a breathtaking sight. My lips part. I'm staring up at the sky for the first time. I feel like I'm staring at something straight from a dream. Absentmindedly my feet carry me over so I'm settled beside Silas.

The sky is an exceedingly dark blue, almost resembling the color black itself. Scattered randomly yet beautifully across the sky are tiny and glowing white dots that twinkle. _Stars._ They twist and twirl in different patterns and shapes. It's endless. My eyes are drawn to the brightest and biggest dot in the sky, a crescent moon.

The air isn't warm and sticky, it's cold and refreshing. It's just right and is like nothing I've ever felt. My arm extends upwards, my palm over the moon and my fingers spread. I bend my fingers as if to grab it. So this is what it feels like on the surface.

There is no barricade over my head. There is a cold breeze that makes my clothing flutter. It's blowing in a certain direction like it wants me to follow. I'm no longer a tethered bird. We're no longer trapped in a forgotten wasteland. Me and Silas look over at each other with wide smiles. We did it. This is our first night beneath the stars.

"Looks like they were here." A faint voice sounds from the stairwell. That sounds like an annoyed Levi.

"They can't be too far then!" The girl exclaims.

"I smell them."

The happy faces me and Silas wore morph into panic. I don't doubt that the guy who goes by "Mike" can smell us. He smelled Erwin coming without having to look. Me and Silas take off into a desperate sprint down the road.

"He can smell us?" Silas whispers with raised brows. I nod, my throat feeling tight. We can't get caught. Not now. We've barely seen anything this world has to offer. "So he's like a bloodhound then?"

"I guess so." I breathe out as we run. Honestly I have no clue how his nose is so advanced. But then again, mine and Silas's eyes are advanced. I start bringing my cloak up and over my head. Underneath the long cloak I wear is a long sleeve shirt and cargo pants. "If that's the case…"

"Good thinking." Silas catches on to what I'm doing and starts taking his cloak off as well. "We'll toss these to trick his nose?"

"Yes." I throw my cloak down the road. Silas just drops his onto the ground before following me down a narrow alley.

"Ren, our shoes." Silas points to the muddy footprints the bottom of our worn footwear is leaving behind. We both kick our shoes off.

"Guess we'll be barefoot for a little while." I speculate, wincing when my feet step atop mini pebbles along the road. The ground is definitely more solid than what I'm used to.

"This really hurts." He gripes. My teeth clamp down on my tongue, silently agreeing with him. I might of laughed at this unfortunate situation if we weren't in serious trouble.

We turn down different alleys and roads, not having the slightest clue where we are going. I keep looking over my shoulder to see if those higher ups are there. My breath catches and I grab Silas's arm, tugging him behind a dumpster. Someone had flown over our heads with the 3DMG.

"What now? No way am I going back to the underground." Silas clenches his fists. "They'll find us eventually."

My jaw locks firmly. I don't want to go back down there either. However I don't think we'll get sent down there if we are caught. We'll be killed most likely. I stare at the dumpster next to us.

"Let's hide in here. Gross, I know, but they won't be able to spot us from above if we are concealed." I whisper.

"It's our only option right now. The horrid smell coming from that might throw that guy off who can smell like a dog too." He nods in agreement, quietly raising the lid. "...Ladies first."

"...Ugh." I crawl into the dumpster, holding my nose and crouching down on a trash bag. The smell is really overpowering. It's making my eyes water. Silas joins me and closes the top which leaves us in the dark. Our eyes adjust quickly.

"Spending the night in a dumpster." He grumbles, holding his nose. He suddenly grins. "It's so worth it though."

"Without a doubt." I beam.

"Ren, you're crying."

I look over at him with narrowed and watery eyes. Whatever's in this dumpster has to be rotting. Slowly, I can see water well up in his own eyes at the disgusting and irritating air.

"So are you. Go on Silas, let it out." I smirk. He elbows me in response. "Ow."

"You're funny, Se _ren_ ity."

❤•○●○•❤

 _ **Here is a little information about my two main OCs.**_

 _ **Serenity Rose and Silas Rose are twins. They view life as a game and constantly challenge one another.**_

 _ **As for their bloodline abilities, they are master marksmen, they have enhanced eyesight and are able to link their vision together.**_

❤•○●○•❤

 _ **This will loosely follow the anime for a bit, I'm not all that familiar with the manga unfortunately. All I've watched was the anime.**_ ** _(︶︹︺)_**

 ** _Anyways, thank you for reading! :)_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Kitten17175:**_ _ **I'm so happy you love it! I plan on continuing it. Thanks so much for your review! :)**_

 _ **I apologize for any errors. :c**_

Chapter 2

❤•○●○•❤

My eyelids crack open gradually, sleep still lingering heavy all over. All of my limbs are cramping from being crouched down for so long. I stretch my arms, my fist bumping against Silas's cheek. He grumbles incoherently at the contact. We are squished up against one another. I need to get out of this small space and stretch.

When my eyes open fully, they focus on the two lids of the dumpster above. In the tiny gap between them is an almost blinding light. I stare at it in astonishment. _Sunlight._ My hand moves so it's underneath the sun-ray shining in. It's so comforting and warm. I didn't imagine the sun would feel like this. I nudge Silas.

"Si, wake up." I speak gently, trying to lure him out of his bottomless pit of dreams in a not so rude way. He swats at my hand. _That was rude._ My lips curve upwards into a smirk and I sit up, my sore muscles twinging. My palm presses against the top of the dumpster above Silas and I push it open. I kind of regret opening it so quickly. The sunlight blasts us both, blinding me temporarily. Never have I seen something so radiant. I shield my eyes for a moment.

"...Mmm…" Silas moans in complaint, bringing his hands over his eyes. The light is shining through his eyelids mercilessly. "...very bright."

"Are you awake now?" I ask, slowly lowering my hands from my eyes.

"How could I not be awake?" He looks over at me. I can still see the drowsiness in his eyes. He's more of a night person than a morning person. I only imagine he's not as cranky because we are no longer underground. I start laughing, wrapping my arms around my midsection as I do.

"The sun is crazy bright." I smile, standing up with a grunt. My achy limbs scream in relief. I hop out of the garbage can, landing in a crouch before straightening up and raising my hand above my head to block the sun. "And the sky, it's so blue and boundless."

There is thin morning fog hovering a few inches above the ground. A white and fluffy cloud drifts in front of the sun, casting a shadow over our heads. I lower my hand. The cloud is slowly changing shape. Everyday is different up here. It's constantly evolving and not staying the same like it would beneath the ground. I feel renewed. The air last night was fresh, but now it's even more so. This is where I want to exist.

"Wow." Silas breathes out from next to me. I look over to see nothing but awe in his gleaming eyes. "Just looking at the sky takes my breath away. And think," He looks over at me. "There is still so much out there to see."

"Let's get exploring then." I grab his hand with a toothy smile.

"Yeah." He mimics my smile. He then stares at my attire before looking down at his. "We should… clean up a bit first. I bet we stink like that dumpster."

"Oh." I let go of his hand and look down at my bare feet.

The quality of our attire will definitely draw attention. People up here have money, more money than people underground at least. We don't have any spare clothing, let alone a place to bathe. By the look on Silas's face, I can tell he's thinking the same thing.

"We should of packed." He sighs.

"Well, we did, but there was some complications." I remind, my mind wondering back to those extremely skilled higher ups.

We were successfully able to escape from them. It seems to garbage really did conceal our scent from Mike the Bloodhound, maybe it did too good of a job. Me and Silas reek, mainly our clothes. I cross my arms and take a look around. I doubt anyone would lend us clothes.

"Standing around here isn't doing us any good." Silas starts walking forward.

"Right." I agree, trailing after him.

As we retrace last night's steps through the alley, I can hear the chattering of people gradually growing louder and louder. Already I can tell there is way more activity on the surface than there is below. Before we get to the main road, a loud and surprised gasp makes us turn our heads.

An old woman is standing in front of a wooden door with a bag of trash. She must live there. Her wrinkled eyes stare at me and Silas in horror. Why horror? I don't think we come off as looking scary. She sets her trash bag aside and walks over to us.

"Goodness gracious… what happened to you two young people?" She asks. Her voice is noticeably aged but there is a kindness in it anyone could notice. Her sapphire eyes are staring at Silas's arm. I look over at him. He is holding his arm, giving off the impression that he is injured. He's not injured though. It's just a habit of his. Before Silas can open his mouth to reply, I beat him to it.

"We were on a night walk and had a run in with some thugs…" I explain, directing my eyes to the ground in a false gesture of sadness. "They came out of nowhere."

"Oh my!" The old woman brings her hands over her cheeks. "I'm terribly sorry. Please, come inside and get cleaned up. I have some extra clothing my neighbor gave to me so I can donate them to the church…"

The old woman waves us over to the door. Silas glances at me before we take steps in her direction. Perhaps she would of helped us even if I haven't told that lie, but I just wanted to ensure that she would. I've lied many times before, but never to someone who seemed genuinely nice like this woman. There is a small twinge of guilt in me. _A rare emotion._ Oh well. I'll do anything to get cleaned up.

"Nice one." Silas whispers over at me.

"You better keep acting like your arm hurts or we are screwed." I whisper back.

"I don't think we would be screwed. We do look like we got the crap beaten out of us overall." He shrugs and I sigh.

We enter the old woman's house. There is a floral scent present in the air and everything is nice and tidy. The wood floor is polished and the wallpaper is covered in many different patterns. This is the cleanest place I've ever set foot in. I can't help but to admire it.

"Please pardon the mess." She smiles sheepishly at us, her hunched form taking small steps further into the home. Me and Silas give her a wide eyed look.

"What mess?" Silas asks candidly.

"I have to agree. Your home is the cleanest I've ever seen." I speak honestly. The old woman blinks at us then laughs heartily.

"Oh you two are so sweet." She gets out between her laughs. There is a light dusting of red on her cheeks. "It's just haven't dusted yet this week so it's not perfectly clean as I normally would like."

"I see." I murmur, looking around. Personally I think this place is glowing. My eyes don't pick up even the tiniest grain of dust. "Well, anyways, thank you for inviting us inside."

"My pleasure! I just can't leave two people in need all alone!" She smiles and walks over to a bag of clothing. That must be the clothing she was going to donate.

"Her kind nature… I'm not used to it." Silas admits to me under his breath. I nod in silent agreement.

"What size are you, dear?" The old woman looks over at me. She's holding up a yellow colored high low and sleeveless dress. She's holding sandals too. A dress is something I haven't worn before. I have no clue what size dress would fit me to be honest. Silas snorts in laughter. My eyes focus on the tag on the dress. It's a small. It looks like it'll fit.

"Those should fit me." I say. She tosses the dress over to me along with the sandals. Easily I catch it.

"The second door on your left down there is the bathroom. Help yourself to anything in there." She smiles.

"Thanks." I nod at her politely and start taking steps towards the bathroom.

I glance down at the dress in my hands as I walk. This will have to work for now. I open the bathroom door. It creaks loudly as I close and lock it behind me. My eyes scan over the bathroom.

The shower-head is over a wooden bathtub and there is a small pedestal sink with an equally small mirror above that. A window is present in the room. Thankfully it's made of privacy glass. Along the floor around the bathtub is shampoo and conditioner, as well as body wash. As I walk towards it the floor groans. The sound is something I'm used to hearing.

I clean up quick. I wash my hair thoroughly and use my fingers to rid the gruesome tangles. The water is warm, not overly so though. No steam rises but it's better than my usual cold showers. I dry off with a nearby towel and slide into the fit and flare dress. My feet carry me in front of the mirror and I stare at my reflection.

My expression is somewhat lazy as I stare at mainly my attire. I stand on the tips of my toes to see how the dress looks on me. It's pretty but not my preferred style. I lower myself so my feet are flat on the ground and stare at my fair skinned face.

My attention is drawn to the door when I hear faint and footsteps along with the opening of a door. Living with Silas my whole life, I know that's the sound of his footsteps. I inaudibly sigh. We need to leave as soon as we can. The Military Police could be searching this area specifically for us. We have to be really cautious. I tie half of my hair back before exiting the bathroom and walking to the main room of the house. My dress flows behind me. I'm ditching this as soon as I can.

"You look lovely!" The old woman claps her hands with a smile. "Such a gorgeous girl you are."

"Thank you." I smile, trying to keep blood from rushing to my cheeks at the compliment. "I appreciate how kind you're being to total strangers."

"You're very welcome! Your brother is in the other bathroom. It's the least I can do with everything happening." She waves her hand, signalling it's nothing.

She moves and sits in a rocking chair. I stare at her in thought. I recall her words. _Everything that's happening?_ I should try to get information from her. Information about the surface and everything that's going on should be helpful.

"Everything that's happening?" I question and lean against the wall. Silas then enters the room. He was quick with his shower too. He's wearing khaki pants and a black t-shirt. The clothes look good on him. He even has on a pair of clean tennis shoes.

"Yes." The woman starts sadly as Silas stands next to me. "Ever since the Colossal Titan appeared, everyone has been terrified."

I look down at my feet in thought. _The Colossal Titan._ I nearly forgot Titans existed. Titans were the least of my worries down below. My head turns so I can stare out the open window. In the distance I see an enormous wall. That's just one wall of many built to keep the Titans out. My eyes look back over at her.

"Titans eat people, don't they?" I ask.

"Yes." She brings her hands over her chest, confirming the disturbing question.

"The walls keep people safe. In other words, they keep the Titans out and trap the people in." Silas speaks.

"Yes. Unfortunately with the fall of Wall Maria, there isn't much room left for humans to reside." Her eyes gaze out the window. "The Titans are taking away so much. We're nearly extinct."

My fingers drum against my thighs as I think. From what I gather, nobody can go beyond the walls. Well that's no good. Me and Silas stare at each other. We didn't come all the way up here to stare at a wall. We came up here to see the world and broaden our horizons, to see rare sights that nobody has seen before. Being on the surface is a step up from being underground, but with these walls it's prison all over again. That's no good at all.

"But these Titans, they aren't invincible. Correct? There are people that battle them." Silas tilts his head back with a smirk, peering at the old woman. She looks at both of our dauntless faces with wide eyes and slowly nods.

"So then, if the Titans were gone these walls will be meaningless." My eyes gleam. The old woman nods again.

"Then we'll do just that." Silas looks over at me with a smile. I nod, crossing my arms.

"Can't be that hard." I muse, smirking at Silas. I hold up an imaginary bow, acting like I'm going to shoot. "I blind them and you slice them."

"You both shouldn't be so cocky!" The old woman raises her voice at us, sudden tears in her eyes. "The Titans are horrifying creatures! They took my son away from me!"

The unexpectedness or her words and raucous tone makes my eyes widen. My insides abruptly feel heavy. The Titans killed her son. The Titans have killed countless people. _...Like people have killed countless people._ My eyelids lower. This world is cold-blooded. Whether it's a wolf hunting a hare, or a cat pouncing on a rat. This world is full of bloodshed. These days it takes everything to survive.

"Sorry." Silas apologizes about her son's death. I turn my head to gaze at him. His eyes are stony. "It's just we aren't scared of Titans."

"Have you ever seen one?" The old woman asks seriously. Me and Silas glance at each other.

"...No." I admit and bring my hand to the back of my neck sheepishly.

"That's why. If you have actually seen those creatures you would be frozen on the spot." She asserts.

"Would we?" My lips curve upwards slightly. "We've seen a lot of horrifying things. Life is a game of survival. There are a ton of dangers out there."

"...You both are lunatics." The woman starts massaging her temples. Me and Silas blink. _Lunatics?_ "I pray the Lord will watch over you both and grant you with wisdom."

"Thank you." Silas grins, forming a peace sign with his two fingers. I mimic him habitually, pushing myself off the wall and folding my arms behind my back.

"I'm sorry about your son. Death caused by another is deplorable. Everyone should be able to live a happy life and get to see great things."

"It's because of the Titans people are trapped in these walls and in the underground. So we'll kill them until there is none left." Silas starts walking towards the door. "This world will do much better without them. They only eat humans, right? All other life is ignored by them?"

"I've read at one point in time that humans were at the top of the food chain. So we'll take back our first place spot." I follow after Silas. "Titans can't kill humans if they are the ones extinct. Living behind walls is wholly pathetic. Titans can't hog a world that's meant for everyone."

"Thank you for your hospitality." Silas waves along with me as we exit her house. She stares after us with comically wide eyes.

Me and Silas step out into the fresh air with a sigh. I fold my arms over my head, staring up at the birds soaring in the sky. Every other living thing can roam this world freely, so why can't we? I incline my head towards Silas to see him looking up too.

"We were using that overly formal tone again." Silas chuckles.

"Why do we do that?" I rotate my ankles.

"I have no clue." He shrugs. "I think it's a first impression and intimidation type thing."

"You think?" I smile as we start to walk again. "...We have to stop doing that."

"Yeah. On to more important things," He begins. "Only the people who battle the Titans can go beyond the wall."

"The people who battle the Titans are called the Survey Corps I think." I nod, letting my arms hang at my sides as we continue down the brick road. My eyes roam around.

Many people are out and about and have smiles on their faces. There are children running everywhere with giggles erupting from their mouths. Little shops are aligned everywhere and there are occasional food stands. Everyone looks happy. I can't help but to wonder why. They are caged in.

"That sounds right, Wings of Freedom or whatever. So let's go join them." Silas waves his hand. My lips purse together into a pout as I look at him.

"Doesn't that require three years of Military Training? Sounds like a drag." I say, crossing my arms.

"What else can we do?" His amber eyes peer into my own. "Right now we have no money, no house. We can get on the other side of the wall easily, but with Titans residing there survival is even more slim than what it was underground."

My eyes shut briefly as I think over his words. He's right. I thought once we got out of the underground we would be free, but it's evident we still have more to do before we are truly free. _Join the Military and fight the Titans._ Once we get rid of the Titans we will be free. I reopen my eyes. We have stopped walking and are staring at the wall ahead. This is Wall Rose.

"Let's go along with your plan. But, I'm kind of curious about what a Titan looks like. Are they really as scary as that woman said?" I bring my finger to my chin in thought. "What could be so scary that'll freeze you on the spot?"

"Want to see if we can spot one?" Silas asks. I lower my hand and blink over at him. He points up. "I'm sure we'll see at least one if we stand on top of the wall."

"Sure." I agree. We'll for sure be able to spot one from up there. "We'll need the 3D Maneuver Gear. But… I don't think my outfit will work well with the gear."

"What do you mean?" He starts. His mouth then forms an "o" shape before he smirks. "Serenity in a dress."

"W-whatever." I stutter to my embarrassment. A sudden warmth gathers in my cheeks and I look tenaciously to the side. "Let's forget about that idea and focus on how to join the Scouts. How do we do that? Is there a booth somewhere?"

"Maybe," Silas brings his hand over his head to shield the sun as he looks around. "I guess we should ask someone— oh. Look."

I follow his eyes to see a table surrounded by Military Police. People are gathered in front of it, waiting in a perfectly straight line. It looks like a sign up booth. Considering there is Military Police standing with perfect posture beside it, it certainly gives off the vibe. Me and Silas walk over to the side, not actually approaching the booth just yet.

Sitting at the booth is a somewhat frightening man. _Frightening from stress._ He's bald and has golden eyes with dark rings around them. He has noticeable wrinkles on his tanned skin. He's wearing the uniform the Military Police would normally wear, it has an olive green hue. Also instead of the unicorn symbol, it has twin and crossed swords on it. The trainee symbol perhaps? So this guy is the instructor?

"Well… let's get in line I guess." I start walking forward. Silas grabs my arm, making me come to a stop. I look at him curiously.

"Ren… look who's standing behind that guy." He nods his head, a gesture to look closer. I look behind the bald man and my eyes widen.

Standing behind him is a very familiar face I've only just edged into my mind last night. Those blue eyes of his are brighter than the sky itself. The sun shining in them makes them even more captivating to me. It's Erwin. His green cloak isn't on, which reveals the emblem of two wings on his uniform. _The Wings of Freedom._ The wheels in my head turn before they slam to an abrupt halt.

"Wait a second… Was it the Wings of Freedom who were chasing us along with the Military Police last night?" I ask, looking over at Silas. His face is openly surprised, mimicking my own face.

"That's what it looks like. Why would they be underground though? Chasing us?" He whispers in thought.

"Maybe because the Military Police aren't skilled enough to catch us, so they asked the more skilled people to help." I close my eyes, smirking. "And those more skilled people weren't skilled enough either."

"Ha," Silas chuckles. "Obviously. Well then, let's line up. Nobody in any Military Branch has seen our faces before."

"But they have heard our voices, especially Erwin. He has seen my eyes too, your eyes. You also went and gave away that we are related when you came and saved me." I point out.

"...Crap." Silas frowns. "So we may be familiar to him."

"Exactly. We can mask our voices easily but our eyes is something we can't."

Silas hums in thought and looks around. My head tilts to the side curiously when he walks over to a nearby shop. He casually takes a pair of sunglasses off one of the racks. The only pair of sunglasses. He slides them of his face and takes my hand in his and walks up both towards the booth. I open my mouth to question him, but his voice beats mine.

"Keep your eyes closed. You're blind." He grins. I snort in unladylike like laughter.

"If I'm blind, shouldn't I be the one wearing the glasses?" I close my eyes with an overly amused smile.

"Yeah but I wear these better." He replies then whispers quietly so only I can hear. "I'll be your eyes, okay? Tap into my vision."

"Alright." I nod, focusing on his presence. There is a sudden surge in my body, then I can see exactly what he sees. His eyes are mine.

We are standing in line behind three people. They seem to be friends due to how close they are standing by one another. Their backs are to us, but one is a girl with medium length black hair, the other is a boy with blonde hair cut into a bob, and the last one is a boy with short dark brown hair. They are talking among themselves.

Easily I can hear the brown haired boy vowing that he is going to slaughter all the Titans, _by himself._ The higher your goal the better. High goals mean seeing and accomplishing more than what you wish for. The blonde boy turns around just out of curiosity to see how long the line is. The line has grown since me and Silas have stepped in. His blue eyes land on me. Through Silas, I can see the curiosity shine in them.

"Problem?" Silas asks in a formidable tone at his staring. It takes much effort to keep my lips from twitching upwards. I expected him to speak in a lower voice to mask his normal one, but he did the opposite. His voice is high.

"O-oh. No, sorry." The blonde stutters.

"If you are wondering why her eyes are closed just say it." Silas quips. The brunette teenager turns around, glaring at Silas with his teal eyes.

"What your problem?!" He steps towards him in an intimidating way. Silas and I aren't easily intimidated. The black haired girl puts her hand on his fuming shoulder.

"Eren," She tries to calm him down.

"My sister is blind. That's my problem!" Silas narrows his eyes in false anger. They all look at me. My closed eyelids twitch and I face the direction they are not in purposely.

"Silas… what's going on?" I murmur, deepening my voice. I don't make it overly deep to be more realistic unlike Silas.

"It's nothing." Silas answers sadly.

Eren and the two turn around slowly at that answer. The blonde throws me a sorry look. I smile at that and his head cocks to the side slightly, eyes glazing over in thought. Maybe he's catching on to our little act. He does look very smart. It's not a problem if he or his friends find out. Me and Silas are more concerned about Erwin. He's still standing at the booth, seeming to be having a conversation with the bald man.

The line is moving slowly yet steadily. Some people are getting impatient. I'm not though. Instead of getting antsy, I'm enjoying the feel of the sun on my skin, enjoying the sound of birds and freshness of the air around me. Silas is doing the same, but his eyes are roaming around too. It's so tempting to open my own eyes so I can look around for myself. Soon enough, me and Silas are next in line.

Lying across the table in an organized fashion are papers along with pencils. Silas stares at them closely. It's a form we have to fill out, regarding our names, backgrounds, etc. Silas takes two sheets with the Wings of Freedom insignia and one pencil. He's going to fill one out for me.

"What do you think you're doing?! I only have a limited amount of papers!" The bald man roars. His gold eyes are blazing. Erwin is looking at me and Silas now. Nervousness is slowly trying to make itself known.

"Sir, my sister cannot see." Silas explains.

"She's blind and wants to join the Wings of Freedom?" The bald man questions. Erwin looks at me curiously.

"Yes sir, but I am not deaf so quit talking like I'm not here." I say duly.

"You joining to be Titan food?!" He yells further.

"No, I'm joining as the predator. The Titans are my food."

"My sister will eat just about anything, sir." Silas nods in confirmation. I nearly choke.

"That's vile!"

"Well," I elbow Silas because of his words. "Sometimes you have eat whatever you can find, even if it isn't appetizing. That is the way of life. Surely you understand."

❤•○●○•❤

Erwin stares at the two people in front of the booth keenly. He can't shake off the fact that something seems familiar about them. There is something odd about them too. This young woman wants to fight Titans despite her lack of sight. Despite how admirable that is, fighting Titans blindly is suicide. The sound of her voice seems off as well. Her brother's voice seems even more off. It's extremely high and scratchy.

He studies the girl. Her arms are folded behind her back. Her eyes are closed, causing her lengthy and ebony lashes to rest upon her cheeks. She's wearing a yellow dress that fits snugly on her voluptuous figure. Half of her waist length brown hair is tied back, but her bangs are free and left to frame her faultless face. She's small, probably close to the same height as Levi. Overall she looks fragile, easily breakable if handled the wrong way.

The girl raises her arm to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. Erwin can't keep his eyes from widening a bit. He can see now that her arms are perceptibly toned. That's not what really catches his eyes. It's her fingers. Three of her fingers on her right hand are noticeably bruised and blistered, like something has been rubbing against them.

His icy eyes move to her brother who is almost done filling out the registration form. He looks just like the girl, only his features are more masculine. His sunglasses have ridden down his nose, revealing just a glimpse of amber eyes. Erwin knows those eyes. He's seen them just yesterday. Voices bring him out of his deep thoughts.

"We're more skilled then all your trainees put together. I bet we can even wipe the floor with you—" The brunette young man begins.

"You cocky little fucker!" Keith rumbles loudly, sounding like thunder as he cuts the brunette off.

Keith's bald head that is harder than rock rams into his. Swirls appear in the young man's eyes upon the contact and he drops backwards onto the ground with a groan. His sunglasses clatter onto the floor. The young woman's eyes snap open, they aren't milky in color like he expected from her being blind, but a fiery amber. Her eyes are a striking mixture of red and gold. He knows exactly who these two people are now. They put on quite the act.

"Don't touch my brother—! Ow!" The young woman steps forward with her fist raised. Her voice is just as divine as he remembered it to be, only instead of the calmness it's topped with resentment. Her voice is cut off by Keith ramming his head into hers. That man shows no mercy.

She anticipated the move and raised both of her hands to hold him back, however, Keith had used all of his body weight which easily overpowered her much smaller form. She tumbles onto the ground next to her brother. The two sibling's heads bump together. Erwin watches in mild amusement as they both go into unconsciousness at the contact. No doubt they have a concussion. Erwin grabs the two papers that the brother was filling out, his eyes scanning over them.

"Serenity and Silas Rose," He reads to himself. The twin criminals immensely well-known in the Underground City. He looks down at their sprawled out forms. "Welcome to the Scout Regiment."


	3. Chapter 3

_**LiliacLilyFlower:**_ _ **Thank you so much! I'm happy this is interesting to you! I'll definitely keep updating. :D**_

 _ **Baemaxxy: Thank you! I'm glad you're hooked! And I've never watched NGNL, but I've have heard of it. It's actually on my to watch list! c:**_

 _ **certifiedasian:**_ _ **I'm glad you're liking it! Thank you for pointing out that there are typos and grammar errors. I'll go back and fix those asap! I try proof reading but end up missing some things lol. And yeah they definitely can be arrogant. I appreciate all reviews more than words can say, but reviews like yours especially because they help me. :) Thank you for believing in me as the author, like you said, this is only just the beginning! Hopefully I'll be able to keep yours and everyone else's interest, we'll just have to see how it goes I guess, haha! Thank you so much for reading. Means a lot.**_

Chapter 3

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The first thing my eyes focus on when they open is small and vibrant green blades rising out of the earth. _Grass_. My fingers carefully curl around the many silken pasture plants. At a slow pace, I push myself up, sitting on my knees and looking around with wide eyes.

There are vast hills stretched across the landscape, along with occasional clusters of hulking evergreen trees. The aromatic scent of the wild flowers travels with the breeze and up my nose. Fluffy clouds are moving through the sky subtly. I feel as if I'm in a dream. What I'm seeing now is like nothing I've ever imagined. A light prickling sensation makes me look down.

I raise my hand in front of me. Crawling along the back of it is a round and yellow bug embellished with black spots. This bug is definitely new to me. It's not disgusting in appearance like the ones I'm used to seeing in the underground. My lips part in surprise when it suddenly takes off in flight. My eyes follow it. _How did I… get here?_ When my head starts throbbing, everything rushes back at me.

Hearing a groan, I look beside me to see Silas sitting up in a daze. He rubs his head before he mimics my earlier actions by looking around in awe. After he takes in the scenery, his eyes meet mine. Lashing out at him for his plan which involves me being blind is overly tempting. How could I possibly pass as a blind person?

"Ren, where—?" He starts, but a voice cuts him off.

"Good morning!" A feminine voice greets, surprising me. I look over my shoulder to see two figures. Two very familiar figures.

The shortest of the two is standing up with his arms crossed. I'm staring into the dull and narrow eyes of Levi. He's lacking his green cloak this time, revealing his black undercut. He gives off a seriously cold impression.

The one sitting down is a young woman with light brown and wide eyes. Her dark brown hair is pulled back in a unkempt ponytail. The lens of her thickly framed glasses start gleaming as she grins widely, making her cheeks shade red.

If they are here, that means they caught us, and that means Erwin has figured me and Silas out. I can't help but think it's Silas's fault we've been caught. _Moving on from that though,_ why did they bring us here? I expected them to either throw us back in the underground or kill us. They both have the Wings of Freedom insignia on their uniform.

"You both are so cute!" She suddenly appears a mere few inches in front of me. Her eyes peer deeply into my own, studying them. She then leans into Silas's personal space, making him lean back with a frown. "You guys are so identical."

"...Thanks?" Me and Silas speak at the same time.

"My name is Hanje Zoe, what's yours?" She grins widely, leaning back and holding out her hand.

I stare at her hand warily, debating whether or not I should accept her kind gesture. Since we're still breathing, I assume they don't want us dead, but the fact that we're still on the surface and not behind bars confuses me. Really though, I shouldn't complain. I carefully place my hand in hers.

"Serenity Rose." I answer as we exchange a friendly handshake.

"Silas Rose." Silas introduces himself as Hanje offers him a handshake as well.

My eyes wander from her to Levi. He's merely staring at us in disinterest. His narrowed eyes suddenly look to the side. I turn my head to see Erwin walking over. He seems to have walked out of a castle-like brick building I've failed to notice earlier.

"Good. You both are awake." Erwin speaks.

"I'm surprised you both woke up as soon as you did. Keith headbutted you both pretty hard I heard. Does your head still hurt?" Hanje asks me curiously, her tone a hint concerned.

"Kind of." I answer honestly, raising my hand to my forehead. "But it's nothing serious."

"So, why are we here?" Silas asks Erwin straightforwardly.

"I gather you both want to join the Survey Corps. From experiencing your skills personally underground, you both have what it takes. Your skills already surpass most of my soldiers. Three years of training would not be necessary." He answers, folding his arms behind his back in a professional manner.

Me and Silas exchange a glance. It's true we both want to join the Survey Corps to achieve our wish to see everything this world has to offer, to be free and spread our wings so we can go wherever we may please. To do that we would have to kill the Titans which brought us to the decision to join the Survey Corps, the very people who battle them. It sounds like he's offering us a spot. _So easily though?_

"So you're willing to accept us despite our underground crimes? That's a little rash, don't you think?" My lips tug upwards into a smirk rather than a smile.

"Foolhardy actually." Silas smirks too while crossing his arms. "How do you know we won't turn on you?"

"I don't." Erwin answers, smiling in unknown amusement. "I'm willing to overlook all of your crimes. Lend me your strength. If you don't I have no problem turning you both over to the Military Police, and I doubt they will treat you very nicely. In fact, I'm sure they would sentence you both to death."

"You're probably right." I muse, leaning back on the heels on my hands.

"Well if you're willing to let us start a new game, we'll join." Silas says and I nod. "Dying when we hardly experienced anything this world has to offer would suck."

"You know, if the both of you guys would of just surrendered in the underground you could've joined us then. That's why we were pursuing you after all." Hanje reveals.

"Well I'm going to be frank and say you guys didn't come off as the recruiting type." I stand up along with Silas, brushing some grass and dirt off my dress. "Drawn blades and all implies, 'Hey, I'm going to kill you.'"

"Oh. She's very blunt." Hanje looks over at Erwin with a canny smile. I cross my arms, my eyes glazing over in irritation. I've always detested when people would talk about me like I'm not standing in front of them.

"So," Erwin steps towards me and Silas. "You both are willing to give your hearts for humanity?"

Give my heart for humanity? Does he mean am I willing to die for humanity? Willing to die for all those fools in the underground? For all those people that are happy living behind walls? I look over at Silas to see his face incomprehensible. He's thinking the same thing I bet. I look back ahead at Erwin.

"There is no need for us to give our hearts, because we don't plan on dying." I answer.

"We are willing to exert all of our abilities to kill the Titans." Silas adds on. "We'll cut them down…"

"Like a dead branch." I finish.

Me and Silas both have our arms crossed with courageous smirks on our faces. Hanje looks between the both of us with wide eyes before looking over at Erwin who now has his fingers to his temples.

"These two are going to be a handful." She whispers so we won't hear.

"Evidently," He replies and looks over at Levi. "Levi, can you get Silas all set up?"

"Tsk." Levi lets out an annoyed breath before waving his arm in a "follow me" gesture to Silas. "Come on, brat."

"Brat? What a rude little pipsqueak you are—" Silas begins. It is then he and I learn Levi is not one to be coarse and sarcastic to.

Levi turns quickly, slamming the tip of his boot into Silas's gut with a vigorous kick. Silas drops onto his knees, wrapping his arms around his midsection in obvious pain. My insides fume, my blood boiling to the point I can swear it burns. In that moment, my vision seems to go red as I'm blinded by outright rage. My feet carry me on their own accord in Levi's direction. His dangerous eyes are on me now. Before I get close, a rough in texture hand grabs my arm, holding me in place. I look over my shoulder to see it's Erwin.

"Levi," Erwin prompts, having a silent conversation with the man with his ice-like eyes. Levi scoffs.

"You're the one who told me to babysit them. These shitty brats need to learn early. We need to break them in. It's like training a puppy before their natural instincts remain. Their cocky and brash nature will be the death of them, either by the Titans or by me." He glares.

I glare right back, my eyes flashing hazardously. His glare is one of intimidation, domination. Does he expect us to sit like good puppies or cower with our tails between our legs? Not likely. I yield to no one. My eyes move to Silas. He's slowly getting up.

"Silas?" I speak worriedly. He looks in my direction with a reassuring smile.

"That was nothing." He waves me off and I frown. Me and Silas took hard blows in the underground, so perhaps he's right. _But…_

"Try that again, pipsqueak." I glower at Levi, not noticing Hanje shaking her head at me to get me to stop and Erwin's grim expression. "You'll be the one cowering on the floor in your own pool of blood."

"Will I?" Levi asks, eyes ruthless as his form that is the same height as my own starts walking towards me. I don't recoil. I'm ready to meet him head on, until…

"Alright! Let's go inside to get your uniform!" Hanje appears in front of me, pushing me back. I stumble into Erwin, my back against his chest. My eye twitches in irritation when I feel Erwin's hands on my shoulders to steady me out of instinct. I then find myself being dragged at a pretty fast rate towards the castle-like building I assume is the Survey Corps HQ.

Erwin isn't the one gripping my arm anymore, instead it is Hanje. As we get closer to their HQ, other members of the Survey Corps look in our direction curiously. No doubt I stand out because I'm a new face, as well as because of this bright dress. Once we get inside the building, Hanje grabs both of my shoulders with a sigh.

"Look, you and your brother are seriously going to have to work on your attitudes. You can't be talking like that to your superiors." She speaks pointedly, obviously warning me.

"Superiors?" I question as Erwin closes the door.

"Yeah. Since you both are the new guys you're at the bottom of the ranks. Levi Ackerman is a Captain; also known as humanity's strongest soldier, so don't get him angry. I myself am a Squad Leader, and Erwin Smith here is the Commander of the Survey Corps." She explains. I turn my gaze over to Erwin who already has his eyes on me.

"Ah, so you're the head honcho." I affirm and Hanje face-palms.

"I'm serious." She looks at me seriously, her happy nature seeming to fade. "You both are going to get into some serious trouble if you don't work on that. Understand?"

"Got it." I give her a fraudulent two fingered salute.

"Since you are now an official member," Erwin speaks, making me look over at him once again. His face is unamusing and momentous. "You are to address me as Commander. Are we clear, Ms. Serenity Rose?"

"Sure." I reply idly. If he wants to be addressed as such, I'll do so. However, that doesn't mean I'll actually treat him respectfully like the honcho he is. Respect is earned, not thrusted upon you spontaneously. Erwin's eyes pierce mine and I cross my arms sluggishly while looking off to the side at nothing in particular. "...Commander."

"Good! Your improving already." Hanje grins, her peppy self returning. "So, can you share your abilities with us? Your eyes are extremely advanced, right? How so?"

I look away from her so I can study the almost medieval room. My eyes glide across the wooden floors, over the small bundle of hay in the corner of the room, and all the way up to the darkened corner of the high ceiling. I can make out tiny black bugs crawling in curved lines. I point up at the corner, Erwin and Hanje following my finger.

"I can tell you exactly how many ants are crawling on the ceiling. My eyes allow me to see clearly in the dark and at great distances, though I cannot tell you exactly how far. I can see just about almost every single detail on all surfaces, and me and Silas are able to link our vision. In other words," I point at my eye. "I can tap into his vision right now and be able to see what he is seeing currently if he'd allow me. He can do the same."

Hanje wordlessly starts walking towards the corner of the room that the ants are at. I stare at her curiously as she opens a door to a closet. She pulls out a ladder and props it against the wall. Is she planning on climbing up higher so her eyes can distinguish the ants? The ladder she has doesn't look very durable.

"Hanje…" Erwin starts walking in her direction when her hands grip the rung. I trail behind him without haste.

"I have to know if she's telling the truth." She explains, proceeding to climb up the ladder.

"I am telling the truth." I say, letting my arms hang at my sides. "What do I have to gain from lying to you?"

"I just have to see with my own eyes," She starts. Her words come to a halt when the rung her foot was on gives away. She would've for sure fallen if she didn't have an iron grip on rungs above her head. Despite her almost fall and the breaking of the ladder, she keeps climbing.

"Be careful." Erwin lets out a defeated sigh. I glance at him. Clearly Hanje is the type to when she sets her mind to something, there is no changing it. Soon, Hanje makes it to the top.

"Oh wow! There really are ants up here. Even though I'm closer, they are still hard to make out. ...Very impressive!" She giggles that last part. "Levi isn't going to be too happy knowing ants are in here though." My eyes detect the wooden horizontal support of the ladder her feet are currently atop of start to crack.

"You should start climbing down now before gravity forces you down." I advise. I take a step back in surprise when she literally jumps off the ladder and lands in front of me. Her landing was graceful, as expected from someone of the Survey Corps.

"Erwin, I've decided," Hanje throws her arm over my shoulders. My face dulls. _She didn't address him as Commander._ My body is being held against her side forcefully. "I want the twins on my Squad. But if I can only pick one, I want Reni."

"Reni?" I repeat, giving her an objectionable look. She laughs in response.

"Commander." A voice calls out. I turn to see a Survey Corps soldier standing in a doorway, holding a stack of papers. Erwin starts walking towards him.

"We'll discuss that later. Get her set up." He dismisses. She narrows her eyes at him, not happy with waiting. When he's out of sight, she lets out a sigh.

"Oh well. I plan on making you my Squad member no matter what it takes." She grins, dragging me off down a hallway. I nonchalantly remove her arm from around me, not very comfortable with being so close to another person.

"Why?" I ask indifferently. "Can't me and Silas just be part of our own Squad?"

"Doesn't work like that." Hanje briefs. "A Squad that small would mess up the whole formation. We'll explain that later." She adds on that last part at my inquisitive face. "But anyways, I think someone like you would be very helpful in capturing a Titan."

"Capture? I thought the whole point of this group was to kill them?"

"Yeah but it would be helpful to be familiar with the true nature of Titans. You see, I'm sort of a scientist." She grins, her glasses suddenly gleaming and her cheeks growing a few shades darker. "Titans are so fascinating."

I merely stare at her strangely. She thinks these Titans are fascinating? From the way her face contorts into one of delight and wonder, I'd say she's obsessed with the human eating creatures. I revert my eyes away from her, inattentively clasping my hands behind my back as we walk.

"You mean disgusting?" I exhale in exasperation.

"You'll understand when you see one."

"Doubt it. Anyways, I noticed you used Erwin's first name. He's your superior too, right? Shouldn't you be calling him Commander also?" I question.

"Oh, I'm an exception for that rule." She grins widely as she leads me to a door. I study her happy face, getting an idea why that is in my head.

"So you both are together then?"

Suddenly, she starts choking on air. I can't stop myself from jumping slightly at the unexpected actions. She's leaning against the wall, coughing and gagging, desperately trying to breathe. I just stand there, waiting for her to get it together. Slapping her back would probably cause more harm than good, and it's not like she choking on a solid object. I wait it out casually. Once she's done she turns and jabs her finger at me.

" _Never_ , say that again." She says seriously, her cheeks red once again but only in complete embarrassment at the thought of her and Erwin being together. I simper and she sighs, gesturing around the room. "Moving on, this is where the girls uniform room is."

I look around, taking in and studying the room. It's medium in size, and along the walls are clothing racks with different sized uniforms and shirts. The shirt colors range from white to black. If they had any other colored shirts here I would definitely be picking from those instead. These colors are a little too bland.

Hanje pulls some items off the racks. A short light brown and long sleeved jacket with the wings of freedom insignia on it, a white collared shirt, a dark brown slash that goes around the hips, form fitting khaki pants, and dark brown knee high boots. She walks over to me and hands me the clothing with a grin.

"Well, here ya go! These are smalls which are sure to fit you since you're around the same size as Levi. You can grab a green cloak after you change into this. You can change in that room over there. I'll let you get to it. When your done, just continue down the hall and go through the big set of double doors. That's the cafeteria. It's currently dinner time and I'm starving. See you in a bit." She waves, exiting the room.

I stare after her, noting how much of a hurry she is in to eat. My stomach then rumbles lowly. Now that I'm thinking about food, I realize haven't eaten since yesterday morning, Silas too. I walk into the small changing stall, shedding the bright dress.

As I change into the standard Survey Corps uniform, I start to think of Silas. He's more than likely still with Levi, probably getting changed like I am. My eyes narrow at the thought of the small man. Humanity's strongest soldier or not, if he harms my brother again I will do the same to him.

Me and Silas have always had this protective nature when it came to one another. We've been with each other since day one, literally. Once I finish changing, I exit the changing stall and grab a green Wings of Freedom cloak. I gaze at the two wings engraved on the back.

This Survey Corps thing is temporary. Once me and Silas accomplish our goal of slaughtering all the Titans, there will be no need to keep this uniform. But… this organization will probably be pointless when the Titans are gone anyway. _Everything is temporary…_ My mind wonders back to Erwin's question about giving our hearts for humanity.

I don't like the idea of dying for people who don't do anything to help themselves or care, people who have different dreams than me. You have to help yourself before you expect help from others. Everyone wants something different and nobody is satisfied with the same thing. Dying for them would be like dying for nothing. You have to give your heart for yourself and the people you hold close to you. The one person I hold close is Silas. We share the same dream, and we'll fight with and for each other. No one else.

I put the green cloak on, tossing my hair over my shoulder as I exit the room and take steps down the hallway. Straight ahead are the large double doors Hanje described. I guess she is an alright person, peppy yes, but alright. I suppose I could get along with someone like her. She means well. Already she seems to be looking out for me. However, I am not going to change my attitude for the sole purpose to please others.

My hand presses against the wooden door and I push it open, the scent of food rushing up my nostrils. The brick flooring is freshly swept, but my eyes can detect the age in them, from every dent and crack. The walls are in the same condition. Along the walls are wall torches, providing the only light aside from some windows which are located on only one side of the room. If it wasn't for those windows this room would be very dim.

I let my eyes wander further, sweeping over the many Survey Corps soldiers and wooden rectangular tables for feasting. Everyone is chatting, sitting with their friends or Squads I assume. Everyone seems to know one another. My eyes are naturally drawn to the neat blonde hair of Erwin Smith, his standing out among the rest.

His bright eyes are already on me. He probably noticed me when I walked in. His eyes scan over my uniform before he offers me a kind smile. I just blandly wave my hand at him before my eyes catch sight of Hanje next to him, her eyes imploring as she stares at Erwin deeply. Little did I know, she's trying to get him to agree with capturing a Titan. When her eyes move to me, I give her a suggestive thumbs up with a wink while looking between her and Erwin before walking in the opposite direction. I don't need to be looking at her to see she's giving me a hard look. My lips tug upwards, then, I'm sprawled out on the floor.

I look up, seeing a guy around my age also on the floor. He has short and light brown hair that is rather messy, and has a pair of green eyes. He's holding an empty tray. When I look down and see food scattered everywhere around us, it's clear to me that the tray wasn't empty a few moments ago. Did I bump into him? I have a strong feeling that is what happened. I was busy teasing Hanje and not really paying attention to my surroundings.

"I'm sorry." I apologize, adjusting myself so I'm sitting on my knees. Attentively, I begin cleaning up the mess. "I wasn't—"

"Watch where you're going!" He yells at me, cutting me off. I pause in picking up the mess to gaze intensely at him. "That was the last orange juice they had and now I can't drink it!"

"I understand your frustration." I begin, narrowing my eyes. I would be mad too honestly. "Like you said, I should of been watching where I was going. Now, I'm trying to set things right by taking responsibility for my mistake by apologizing and helping you clean up this mess—"

He throws his tray at me. The wooden plate hits the top of my already somewhat achy head, making me instinctively clutch it and flinch. My shoulders begin shaking as I stare at the puddle of orange juice on the floor. _Throwing that tray at me… wasn't necessary._

"You must really like orange juice, huh?" I spit out, my fingers curling into a fist. I throw my fist in his direction and he grabs it with his hand, making my eyes widen. My fist is in his grasp. He begins tightening his grip to the point it's painful. I grit my teeth, swinging my other fist at him. To my surprise, he grabs my other fist too.

At this point, the two of us are gripping each other's clothing and glaring daggers. We're just trying to overpower one another with our weight currently. He's winning. In this moment I really begin to curse my small form. We begin pulling at each other's hair while uncharacteristically growling like dogs.

"Obi, Serenity! Control yourselves." Erwin's voice booms, authority ringing in it. Me and "Obi" both pause and look over at Erwin. His form is towering over ours, his face severe. Obi releases my hair after sneakily tugging at it one last time. I glare and lung at him only to be pulled onto my feet roughly by my arm.

"Outside, Ms. Rose. _Now._ " Erwin's eyes pierce mine. My brows furrow for a second as I comprehend what he said.

"You're kidding, right?" I glower, jabbing a finger at Obi. "He's the one who attacked me first."

"I'm aware. However you attacked him after I instructed you both to stop." He replies evenly.

" _But,_ he _attacked_ me _first._ " I speak slowly, almost as if I'm talking to a toddler. He narrows his eyes slightly at that.

"As I said, ' _I'm aware.'_ " He talks slowly like how I was to him. The muscle in my eye twitches. "Now, you are to go outside and run as a penalty for your actions of failing to control yourself."

"You want me to run?" I question, my voice thick with anger. "As in laps around this fancy castle? For how long?"

"Until sunrise." He smiles as my face drops. "I'm sure it will be easy for you, since you're such a big shot. Go get started."

I stare at him, my jaw tight. He's pointing at the door he wants me to go out of. Slowly, I take steps in the direction of the door and jerk my eyes away from him. Everyone's gaze on me is apparent until I step out the door, closing it none to gently behind me. My teeth gnaw on the inside of my cheek as I look around the wide outdoors. The sun is still up and he wants me to run til sunrise? Letting out an angry breath, I get started. I know if I don't run something worse might be casted upon me by the head honcho.

"Big shot?" I mutter under my breath, my slight jog turning into a fast run as my anger swirls. He said that sarcastically. The sun starts to set after a couple hours, then I'm left running in the dark. Briefly, I wonder where Silas is. Hopefully he's better off than I am.

My breathing is labored, my legs feel heavier than the rest of my body. Maybe I would of lasted longer if I paced myself at the beginning. _Maybe._ I've never ran so much before in my life, let alone for such a long period of time. Halfway through the night, I'm dragging my feet. I raise my leg higher to take a bigger step and my foot gets tangled in overgrown grass.

I pathetically trip, my knees digging into the ground as I land on them. I lean forward, trying to level my breathing. My fingers curl into fists. Everyone is slumbering peacefully right now while I'm out here. The sudden sound of footsteps make me look up through my damp from sweat strands of hair. The first thing I notice on the person are those striking eyes.

Erwin stares down at me, face void of any emotion. I merely stare back, too tired to glare or lash out at him for making me do this. I feel like if I run any longer I'll pass out. Suddenly, he smirks mockingly.

"Pathetic." He speaks, making my eyes widen in dismay. The way his eyes are seeming to jab a hole through me, that smirk of his, the way I'm sitting in the dirt while he's towering over me… It makes me feel _feeble_. I hate it. He turns, walking away and back towards HQ. I breathe deeply before yelling after him.

"Pathetic?!" I snarl. "What person could possibly run all night?! You've given me an impossible task! Why don't you try—!"

"I don't have to try to run all night, I _can_ run all night. Everyone in this building is capable of doing so." He stops in his walk but keeps his back to me. "You are the only one that can't. Game over, Ms. Rose." He looks at me from over his shoulder. "There are a lot of things and people out there that you can't even come close to. You and your brother's arrogance may just cause your death. Life isn't a game. If it were, you would be able to play it as many times as you want. You only have one life. It's up to you whether you choose to keep it or choose to lose it to the Titans. If I were you, I would choose the path with the least regrets."

My lips press together. I can't reply. I don't know how to. He starts walking forward again. I watch him until he is out of my sight. I revert my eyes to the earthy ground below. Never has somebody said words to me that left me feeling so numb.


	4. Chapter 4

_**certifiedasian: "Don't Jaeger it" xD . Okay, I laughed at that. And I'm glad you like Ren and Si's confidence, it will get them into lots of trouble lolol, the things I have planned... More flaws are going to reveal themselves in the next chapter especially. From this point on we are going to discover lots of new things about the twins. Anyways, thank you so much for reviewing! And I'm so sorry about this horribly late update. D: I had a little bit of writers block unfortunately, but now my mind is packed full of ideas for this fic.**_

 _ **Guest : Thank you! **_**_❤ The story update is late, but I hope you'll read and enjoy it!_**

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My eyes arduously open and they are immediately greeted with the blinding sun. The light from the giant star blazes onto my eyes, making me roll onto my side so it's no longer in my sight. I gaze in bewilderment at the grass, wondering why I'm out here. Then like a sudden wind gust, it all comes back to me.

I sit up in a flash. _Erwin Smith._ My fingers curl into fists, getting tangled in the grass as I do while dirt gets trapped underneath my fingernails. His words replay in my head. _That dimwitted idiot._ I'm far from pathetic like he said. He calls me arrogant and a big shot yet his cocksure words prove for him to be contemptuous.

I seriously doubt everyone like he said can run all night. That's absurd. He's just trying to agitate me, down talk me so I view myself as inferior to him. If I really am pathetic, I doubt he wouldn't of came underground to personally recruit me and Silas like he tried to do. _Silas._ I want Silas.

As I stand up, I brush grass and dirt off of my attire then begin walking towards Survey Corps Headquarters. The facial expression I'm wearing is menacing along with my heavy steps. People glance at me as I enter the building but they don't say a word. I may as well be a walking volcano ready to burst.

My eyes land on the door leading to the cafeteria when my ears pick up voices beyond it. It's breakfast time. I saunter over to the door and push it open, my eyes scanning around the room for Silas. I spot my lookalike in no time flat.

He's sitting by Levi Ackerman, "humanity's strongest soldier." I first notice the bored and annoyed look on his face as he picks at his bread roll, then I notice his uniform after that. His amber eyes lock with my own as I start walking towards him. Just the sight of me seems to make him perk up. Why is he sitting by Levi?

"Silas," I speak as I approach. Once I come to a stop beside his chair, I cross my arms over my chest. "I need to talk to you."

"What a coincidence, because I need to talk to you too." He stands up, eyes serious. Levi's eyes move in our direction. I ignore his presence and wave at Silas, a "follow me" gesture.

He follows after me, walking past the many people stuffing their faces and towards the double doors. Before my hand makes contact with the doorknob, someone else opens the door from the other side.

My step falters while my jaw locks. I hear Silas let out a miffed and heavy sigh from behind me. My eyes travel up the much taller figure beyond the doorway until they lock with the bright eyes of Erwin Smith. Tension is rising the longer our eyes continue to stare. He's in my way and isn't moving.

"Good morning, Ms. Rose." He greets me. Gradually, a mocking smirk makes it's way onto his lips. The same smirk from last night. "Did you sleep well?"

I growl, my fingers curling into tight fists that make my knuckles appear white. My eyes flash with resentment. That irritating look on his face gives away that he knows I slept outside. _Imbecile._ He's trying to agitated me again. What kind of game is he playing? Slowly, I smirk much like him. Whatever game it is, I _will_ win.

"I slept wonderfully. My dreams were certainly the best I've ever had." I answer, closing my eyes as if I'm remembering my dreams.

"That's good to hear." He responds. I can sense his careful gaze on me, like he's trying to read me.

"Yes," My eyes open and I sneer. "Your screams as you got eaten by Titans were rather satisfying, it made me wake up with a smile in fact. So thank you Head Honcho, for providing me with some entertainment."

"Reni!" A familiar voice yells, then there is water dripping down my face. Hanje is standing in front of me and beside Erwin, spray bottle in hand and aiming right between my eyes. "No."

"No?" I repeat, running my hands over my face angrily to try and rid the unwanted moisture. "What am I, a dog?!"

"If you don't want to sleep outside again tonight, I expect an apology." Erwin's eyes pierce mine, veritably appearing indignant.

"You won't be getting an apology from me."

"Frankly I don't think you deserve one," Silas joins in, holding his hand out to the side rather lazily. "Your tone and expression was rather provoking—"

Water is now dripping down his face too. The muscle in his right eye twitches and he runs his hands over his face hastily to remove the water. He glares at Hanje who is now pointing a second spray bottle at him. Does she carry around spray bottles normally?

"No." She repeats.

"No—?!" We both growl simultaneously only to flinch back when she moves her fingers over the triggers.

Her gesture is a silent threat to spray us both again. The look on her face makes it clear of what she wants us to do. Me and Silas glance at each other with scowls before bending over into an apologetic bow.

"We're sorry, Commander." We both apologize, our voices blending together.

Slowly, a smirk graces Hanje's face as her light brown eyes move between the two of us. My lips gradually compress together when she turns to Erwin like she just discovered something noteworthy. I straighten up along with Silas.

"They don't like getting wet." She states mine and Silas's mutual dislike casually.

"So?" I speak in a low and dangerous voice, throughly annoyed that she's talking about me like I'm not standing in front of her again.

"So now we know how to control the dogs." Erwin grabs a spray bottle from her and points it at me. "Both of you, outside."

"You can't be serious!" I yap. "I didn't even eat yet!"

"Outside." He repeats.

"At least let me get a bread roll to go—!" He sprays me. The idiot sprays me. "Head Honcho… I demand—! Ack! Fine!"

I stomp past him and out of the cafeteria, muttering how much I loath him under my breath and how much of a jerk he is. My feet gradually come to a stop. If I'm being honest, I'm not entirely sure how to get outside. Going this way is new to me. Not only that, there is this rumbling in the pit of my empty stomach. I turn around and see Erwin aiming the spray bottle at Silas now who looks to be arguing with him. My eyes narrow.

Erwin has this amused expression on his face, like he's getting joy out of bossing us around. My stomach growls again and my and moves over it. I want a bread roll, so I will get a bread roll. He won't beat me. He won't beat _us._ One thing he cannot command is my stomach. I will do anything to get at least something in my stomach… _so I'll play this little game of his._ Does acting inferior to him allow me to get what I desire? _Or perhaps..._

I'm suddenly by Erwin's side. My fingers curl into his green cloak and I tug on it, making his bright eyes move downwards and onto me. I keep my face placid, my lips somewhat pursed together into a dainty pout. My hair swishes as I tilt my head, my eyelashes fluttering as I stare with wide and innocent eyes.

"Commander Erwin, I would appreciate it if you would let me have a bread roll. I haven't eaten anything in over two days now." I speak. "So please, may I have a bread roll?"

He stares at me. Hanje stares at me. Silas stares at me though he looks to know what I'm doing. It's quiet to the point I hear ringing in my ears. Then, Hanje starts cooing while red stains her cheeks.

"Aw! You're so cute! Just like a puppy!" She hugs my side, making my eye twitch. The puppy-dog eyes I'm wearing gradually start to fade as anger seeps into me. Erwin turns to me fully.

"As much as I like that frail tone of yours and how you addressed me with such respect, no, you may not have a bread roll." He responds.

"You jerk!" I push Hanje off of me. "I will rip those bushy eyebrows of yours out of your skull!"

My fists launches towards his face. Erwin ducks under my punch and moves to grab me. I drop onto my knees, somersaulting backwards and kicking my leg outwards to swipe his feet out from underneath him. Hanje suddenly grabs me tightly from behind making me growl.

"Hands off of my sister!" Silas lunges towards Hanje with blazing eyes. "Idiots, she just wants a bread roll!"

"...All of this for a bread roll?" A new voice speaks, making our dust cloud brawl come to a stop.

I look over, seeing Levi towering over our forms on the ground. Silas actually pales to my astonishment, letting go of Hanje and holding his hands up in a surrender gesture. That makes me glower at Levi. My brother isn't scared of anyone. I then remember how he kneed Silas.

"Yes." I glare at Levi, ignoring Silas's "be quiet" gestures. "Is there a problem with that, Pipsqueak—?"

❤•○●○•❤

"T-that idiot…!" I hiss, holding a napkin to my bloody nose. "That stupid twerp, whippersnapper, jerk… no, a homunculus. Being able to kick that hard isn't normal…"

"I tried to warn you." Silas speaks with an evident frown from in front of me. We're both sitting cross-legged in the grass.

"Levi Ackermunculus…!"

"Ha!" Hanje snorts, slapping my back none too gently. "That's a good one! Don't tell him that though or he'll throw you in the stables."

"Hanje…" I start, snapping my head in her direction. "Why aren't you angry with us like everyone else is? I don't get it. Head Honcho shoved us outside, Ackermunculus kicked me so hard I seen stars… I pushed you and my brother attacked you. It makes no sense why you're here laughing like we've done nothing to you."

"That's the least of my concerns." Hanje waves me off, making me openly look at her in bewilderment. "You both have already been penalized so what good will it do if I get angry?"

"Penalized?" Silas questions dully.

"Yup." She replies, popping the "p." "'Run all night or until you drop pathetically' is what he said."

"Tsk." I look to the ground in annoyance.

"Hey, it is _your_ fault." Hanje shrugs. "Didn't I tell you that you have to work on that attitude of yours? You too, Silas. You can't talk to your superiors like that and expect nothing to be done about it."

"We wouldn't have to talk to them like that if they would just stop starting stuff." Silas narrows his eyes and I nod in agreement. "He called us 'dogs.' Come to think of it, everyone refers to us as dogs."

"Who was the one that started that dispute?" Hanje asks, glasses flashing in seriousness.

"Erwin did." I glower. "Him and that stupid smirk of his."

"He could of been smirking about anything." Hanje replies instantly. "He just asked how you slept."

"Yeah but—"

"That's your problem right there." Her eyes lock with mine. "You jumped to a conclusion. Not only that, you joked about him getting eaten by Titans. Wishing death upon people is a wrong thing to do and if you don't agree with that then you really are a dog. A rabid one."

Her words strike a chord within me, making my eyes widen. _So, she has a serious side._ I'm not used to people's words cutting into me at such a degree. My insides contract and I suddenly feel cold. The top and bottom rows of my teeth press together as I realize something.

When I left the underground, I may have well have stepped into a new world. Lives above ground are so precious to everyone while underground it's the opposite. One difference has a huge affect.

All my life I've seen people die before my eyes. I've seen it so many times it no longer fazes me, it is just a normal thing. It is a normal thing. Everywhere you go in this world there will be death. That's true, so why does death still disgust me like nothing else? Maybe it's not death itself, but murder.

I lower the bloody tissue from my nose that is no longer bleeding. People kill people, _yet…_ _it shouldn't be that way._ People shouldn't kill one another or wish death upon one another. Everyone should be able to live a long and happy life.

What does one gain by killing another? Why do people even kill one another when they know the human race is about to be wiped out? Shouldn't the existence of Titans alone be a clear message of who the real enemy is? Why are people so satisfied with their lives as things are now? I run my hand over my face.

It's like Erwin said. You only have one life. Every living thing on this planet does. Losing that life results in the end of your game. That's why you must play it carefully.

"You're right." I close my eyes in acknowledgment at her words. It's clear she cares about Erwin. "What I said to Commander Erwin wasn't acceptable. Wishing death upon others or just simply joking about it is a disgusting thing to do." I meet her wide eyes full of shock, like she didn't expect me to agree.

"I suppose I should apologize as well," Silas eyelids lower. "I now realize we haven't been the most understanding of people. Ever since we came up here we've encountered people who have a great fear of the Titans. We don't hold that fear probably due to the fact that we've never seen one like that old woman told us. I should apologize to Levi as well, since one cannot control their height."

"Yes, me too." I nod. "And one cannot control their eyebrow genetics. It's clear that the surface is a lot different than the underground. Not just the scenery, but the type of people here as well. It's a little overwhelming actually. Hanje, I would like to apologize properly. Do you know where the Commander is now?"

"Right behind you." She points above my head.

I'm quiet, staring at her intently to try and figure out if she's serious. She has to be joking, right? My eyes move over to Silas. He nods at my silent question, giving away that Hanje is telling the truth. Slowly and a little cautiously, I tilt my head back to see Erwin towering over me.

"Well then," I start, stating the obvious facts. "I imagine since you were standing so close you've heard our spoken words."

"Yes." He replies.

"We're sorry for our rash behavior." Silas gets onto his feet and moves towards me. He holds out his hand and I place mine in his, letting him pull me onto my feet. I turn and face Erwin, stepping in front of him and locking my eyes onto his.

"What I said to you was rude and unforgivable." I begin my proper apology. "I don't wish death upon anybody and was merely caught up in my anger earlier. I'm also sorry for insulting your eyebrows. You have really good genetics that are pleasing to anyone's eyes."

Erwin raises a brow at me, failing at fighting a smirk. I narrow my eyes at the glint in his. What is he smirking about? I'm trying to apologize to the best of my ability and he's mocking me with that smirk once again. Silas suddenly bursts out laughing, elbowing me hard enough to make me stumble.

"Just what are you trying to do, Ren?" He laughs out. "Flirt or apologize?"

"What are you talking about?" I glare at him, jabbing a finger at Erwin. "I was just saying he has good genetics. I felt my earlier comment about his eyebrows may have been me implying he was ugly. He's not ugly—"

"Listen to yourself!" Silas grips my shoulders, burying his face in my shoulder as he laughs insanely hard.

"I don't understand…" I start with furrowed brows.

I think over my words. Then, my mouth drops open and my eyes widen. Hanje has tears pricking her eyes and her cheeks are puffed out as she tries to hold back her own laugh. How could I be so stupid?

"Oh, real funny!" I turn to Erwin who is looking quite smug. "I'm just trying to be nice!"

"It seems to me you're the one with a thing for him." Hanje slides over next to me, nudging me repeatedly with her elbow. A popping vein forms in my temple, my eye twitching. Is this her revenge for me messing with her about her liking Erwin?

"I hate you both." I bring my hand over my unusually warm face.

"You're blushing."

"And you're about to be bleeding, Silas." I growl. "Erwin, you anger me more than anyone else and slapping that expression off your face is highly tempting. I'm sorry for earlier and that's it. Me and Silas," I look over at my brother who is still laughing with Hanje. The two are clutching their stomachs and hunched over. "It's been just us for a long while. Suddenly being around a lot of people is new for us. Personally I'm quite miserable here and leaving is quite tempting."

"Then why don't you?" Erwin asks like I have a choice. He told me himself it was either here or the Military Police.

 _Despite that however…_

"Because I would be letting the Titan's win and I refuse to go back to the underground." I answer earnestly. "We came up here to see the world, not stare at a brick wall. I've read a book before. Once humans were the dominant species and I want to take back our first place spot. This planet is here so we can live on it and I want to do that. Right now is no better than living in a cage. This world isn't meant for just the Titans. If that were the case, why would humans even exist? We have every right to be roaming around beyond the walls like they do. So that's why," I bring my hand over my chest, my face determined as my fingers curl into my clothing. "I'll wipe out every single one of them using every ounce of my strength."

"You're doing it wrong." Erwin says, eyes somewhat soft.

"What?" I inquire, confused.

His right hand forms into a fist and he brings it over his chest where his heart beats. His other arm is folded behind his back neatly and his posture is perfect. My hand lowers and my shoulders sag a bit as I sigh, looking off to the side at nothing in particular.

"That's the 'give your heart salute,' isn't it?"

"It is." He confirms.

"I wasn't trying to do that salute. I refuse to die for other people such as those ignorant ones in the underground and the ones satisfied living within the walls. I'll give my heart only for those I love and to fulfil my dreams. But moving on, can we move past the past events? In other words, do you forgive me?"

"You're forgiven." He smiles and lowers his hand from his chest, seeming satisfied.

"Alright." I breathe out, relieved. "So, what is the purpose of us being out here?"

"Today you and your brother will begin your training. Hanje has something planned for you both to test your abilities." He explains, then we both turn our heads.

Hanje and Silas are still laughing their hearts out. Actual tears have gathered in the corner of their eyes and they have sunk down onto the ground. I blankly stare at them. Abruptly, my face begins to feel oddly warm again as I remember why they are laughing. I tear my eyes away from them, crossing my arms and glaring up at the cloudless sky.

"Traitor," I mutter bitterly, referring to Silas. "He's supposed to be on my side." My stomach suddenly growls angrily. Feeling eyes on me, I spare a glance at Erwin. His attention was drawn to me at the loud sound my stomach produced. I scowl. "Well if we are going to train let's get on with it!"

❤•○●○•❤

"Attention everyone!" Erwin's voice booms out. Me and Silas are standing next to him, our faces almost bored in appearance. Our arms are folded over our chests.

We're positioned in front of all the Survey Corps soldiers who are precisely lined up. All of their eyes are on us. My own eyes scan over them. I take an educated guess that the soldiers standing in the front row closest to us are Squad Leaders, since Levi and Hanje are occupying that row. I carefully avoid making eye contact with anyone. Inwardly, I just want to get this part of my life over with and hope me and Silas are on the same Squad.

"Starting today, we will have two new recruits fighting alongside us." Erwin explains to everyone before looking over at me and Silas. "Introduce yourselves."

Me and Silas glance at each other before facing the crowd. I take a single step forward before I speak. For a moment, I contemplate how exactly I should introduce myself. I don't care for making good first impressions. I keep my arms crossed. None of these guys are looking at us in welcome, Hanje is the only one with a eager smile on her face.

" _There are a lot of things and people out there that you can't even come close to."_

My eyes suddenly widen as those words echo in my head. I stare at everyone in front of me. Was he referring to them? How good are these people if I apparently don't even come close to their skill? _But…_ I briefly look over at Erwin. He's only ever seen me in action once in the underground. I'll show him and everyone here what I'm capable of.

"My name is Serenity Rose." I introduce, keeping my voice clear so I won't have to repeat myself. My eyes gleam with fortitude.

"My name is Silas Rose." Silas introduces after me, his voice just as definite.

Erwin nods, seeming to approve of our introductions before looking back at his subordinates. His eyes roam over the front row of soldiers until they land on Hanje. The smile on her face grows bigger and her cheeks flush.

"Hanje," Erwin starts, making her straighten her posture. "They're all yours."

"Hooray!" Hanje leaps into the air, pumping her fist towards the sky. When she lands on her feet, she waves me and Silas over. "Come on Reni and SiSi! Welcome to Squad Hanje! Let's get you geared up!"

"She will never stop calling me Reni." I grumble, running my fingers through my uneven bangs as I stare at her grinning form.

"...SiSi?" Silas repeats in horror at the nickname.

"So we're stuck with Hanje," I whisper under my breath just before I take steps towards her. "I guess I can live with that."

❤•○●○•❤

I tighten the straps of the 3D maneuvering gear around my body before placing the twin operating devices in the holsters at my sides. Silas just finishes sheathing his blades before turning to me. The both of us were "ordered" by Hanje to go inside and put on the 3DMG.

"Wonder what prompted him to put us both on the same Squad." Silas wonders aloud. "But I won't complain. It's what I wanted after all."

"Yeah." I nod in agreement, pulling the hair tie out of my hair. The hair tie is temporarily taken between my teeth as I gather all of my hair on the top of my head to create a rather sloppy bun. "Hanje isn't too bad of a person, yet," I turn and glare at him. "You two seem to get along swell already with how you both blatantly laughed at me."

"Sorry Ren." Silas smiles sheepishly and looks like he's trying to hold back a laugh. "It was just that was probably the funniest thing ever. Well, the funniest thing after when you accidently—"

"If you're about to mention the thing I told you never to mention again, you will pay dearly." I narrow my eyes at him, making him hold up his hands in mock surrender. "Nevertheless, you seemed frightened of Levi. What did he do to you?"

"He didn't physically harm me," Silas answers as we exit the room we were equipping our gear in. "After he kicked me when we first got here I decided I didn't want to feel that pain again, so I just kept my mouth shut. But really, he's a huge clean freak."

"A clean freak?" I repeat, my head tilting slightly.

"Yes. Made me clean the kitchen as punishment for calling him a pipsqueak." He shrugs at his next words. "Apparently my cleaning skills are terrible."

"Never would of thought 'humanity's strongest soldier' had a thing against dirt." I mutter. Silas always hated cleaning and so did I.

"What about you and the Commander?" Silas gazes at me. "Obviously you dislike him greatly."

"He's not my favorite person." I confirm, frowning as I replay yesterday in my head. "I got in a scuffle last night with a guy named Obi and had to run laps all night as a result. I couldn't do it. He called me pathetic and said life isn't a game, and that our arrogance may cause our deaths."

"How arrogant." Silas grumbles indignantly. "Clearly he's the arrogant one for saying that."

"Agreed." My eyelids lower halfway as we exit the building and step outside. The sun always seems to smolder my eyes. It'll take a little time to get used to something so bright being in the sky. I stare up at a cloud passing overhead. "All I've ever viewed life as is a game, nothing else. Winning the game of life has always been my motivation."

"Mine too." Silas nods in confirmation, staring at the same cloud I'm looking at. He suddenly looks serious. "Life _is_ a game. It's always been that way. Like what mom always told us,"

"'Life is a game, so play it well. It's not easy or fair, but if you play it with heart and give your all you'll win in the end.'" I quote what our mother always used to say. A smile forms on my face as I feel resolved. Erwin got to me more than I thought. He's trying to change me and I won't have it. "I'm glad we're together again, Si. Being away from you even for a short moment makes me feel lost."

"Ha," Silas smiles and places his hand on my shoulder. "Same here. We've never been apart until just recently. Don't let the Commander or anyone get to you. We didn't come here to make friends or enemies. Putting up with them is temporary. We're here because of our choice to fight the Titans and take back our first place spot at the top of the food chain. It's time to eliminate our prey so we no longer live in a cage." He suddenly smirks. "Now then, let's go outshine everyone in this training game."

"Right," I nod, mimicking his confident smirk. We both give each other a high-five. "They haven't seen anything yet. If they think they can beat us, they are severely wrong."

"They'll be in for a surprise when we turn out to be the winners." Silas grins as we start walking again.

"Serenity, Silas." A familiar voice calls out to us suddenly.

The both of us come to a stop in our walk and turn around to see Erwin the Head Honcho. He's taking steps towards us, wearing the 3DMG like us. I can't help but notice he used our first names. My lips purse. He's not that far behind us, in fact, he may have been within earshot of us. If he has heard the words we exchanged he doesn't say anything about it.

"Yes, Commander?" I speak, my thumb looping through the belt loops of my pants.

"Hanje is currently setting up a drill for you both. While she's doing that, you both will come with me for your Titan training." Erwin explains. He walks past us both, but not before placing something in our hands.

With furrowed brows, I hold the object up in front of my face. The texture is soft and the shape of it is round. The coloring of it is a mixture of yellow and orange, perhaps hints of red as well. I rotate it in my hand.

"What is this?" I question, looking up at Erwin. He's no longer walking ahead and is staring back at us.

"A peach." He answers. "You eat it."

"A… peach?" Silas repeats, staring at his own in his palm. "I've never heard of it."

"Why is it fuzzy?" I run my finger over the peach as I stare at it. "It doesn't seem like something edible."

"It's completely edible." Erwin reassures me before beginning to walk again. "Eat it or don't."

I continue to stare at the peach in my hand as me and Silas walk side by side and after Erwin. Slowly, I raise the peach towards my mouth. I'm exceedingly hungry, and if Erwin says this is edible then I trust him. I doubt he would give us something to poison and possibly kill us. Me and Silas intentionally take a bite at the same time, our eyes locked onto each others.

As I bite into the peach, the first thing I notice is how juicy it is. This is definitely satisfying to my stomach. It's tangy and sweet, maybe a bit sour? The longer I chew the more soft it becomes. Describing it is hard but one thing is for certain.

"This is amazing." Me and Silas gush at the same time, staring at the peach in amazement.

"By the way," Erwin starts talking again, making our eyes move over to him. He's not looking back at us. "Who taught you both how to use the 3DMG?"

"Nobody." Silas answers through a mouthful. "We're self taught."

"Silas got into it before I did. He taught me what I know." I answer honestly, giving Silas his necessary credit.

It's true Silas learned how to use the 3DMG before me. He was so insistent that I try using the gear because it was so fun. Back then, I had a fear of heights but he helped me conquer that fear. I'm grateful for that. Being up high and zipping through the air is one of my favorite things to do now.

"And your archery skills?" He questions further and looks over his shoulder at me. I only answer him after I swallow.

"It was originally just a hobby I picked up. So, self taught."

"I see." Erwin then looks at Silas. "Are you good at archery as well?"

"I'm just as adept as my sister. Though I don't exactly enjoy it as much as she does." Silas responds.

I take another giant bite out of my peach, my teeth brushing against the huge seed in the center. Silas's words aren't wrong. He can be just as good as a bow as me. I haven't seen him with a bow in a long while though. We've only had one and of course it was in my possession mostly. Although I've been using a bow longer than he has, I don't doubt his skill.

"If you are just as adept as your sister with a bow, I would like for you to use that skill. It would benefit mankind greatly and provide us with a great advantage on future expeditions." Erwin says, making Silas sigh stubbornly.

"Titans are able to be killed with a bow and arrow?" I inquire, tossing the giant seed aside before crossing my arms.

"No. The only way to kill a Titan is by cutting through it's nape. Bow and arrows however would be effective in blinding them to make the job easier." Erwin answers as we come to a stop in front of an immense cluster of trees.

I stare at him for a moment. It's obvious he's set on taking advantage of me and my brother's skills. I would complain but I'm not _exactly_ here against my will. Besides, I already told him I would make use of my abilities to kill the Titans.

Him being the Commander, he has to share the same goal as me and my brother. To kill off the Titans. So I'll put up with him. I doubt he's satisfied with living behind these walls. Assuming so, that's something he has in common with us.

"The nape?" I bring my hand behind my neck. Briefly I imagine someone managing to cut through my own nape. A cut like that would be fatal for sure. "Well, that would do it."

"That's the only way to kill them?" Silas raises a brow and Erwin nods. "Odd. They sound like strange creatures…"

"Indeed." I close my eyes when Silas tosses his peach seed aside. "And our dear Squad Leader thinks they are fascinating. Moving on though, you said we were going to do Titan training? How does this work?"

"Eager to start, are you?" Erwin smiles at me and I merely frown at him in annoyance.

"Yes. My insides are bubbling with so much joy that they feel as if they are going to burst into happy little particles and drift away." I sarcastically reply, my tone biting. Silas coughs into his fist.

"Don't start without me!"

The three of us turn, seeing Hanje riding a brown horse full speed towards us. My eyes widen at the beautiful animal. It's my first time seeing a horse and I think I'm in love. No, I _am_ in love. There are two more people on horses behind her. All of them have their 3DMG equipped.

One of them is a girl with wavy black hair. It's medium lengthed and styled in a low ponytail. She has russet eyes and a cute face. When my eyes meet green ones my teeth grit. The other newcomer is Obi. My jaw clenches when his lips angle upwards. Hanje jumps off her horse and runs over to me and Silas, her arms now thrown over our shoulders.

"I finished setting up earlier than I thought so I hurried over here as quick as I could!" She beams. "I need to see my new cadets in action." Her cheeks become tinted a dark pink. "From the way you two moved through the underground I can only imagine how you will display your skills against the Titans. From the way we take them down and capture them is all dependent on one's skill!"

Me and Silas casually grab her arms and remove them from our shoulders. We step away from her but look in her direction.

"Not that I mind you watching since you are our Squad Leader," I begin.

"But what's with the extra spectators?" Silas finishes for me. We're both looking at Obi and the other girl with a blank expression.

"Oh, this is Obi and Merritt. They are also part of Squad Hanje." Hanje grins as the two come to a stop beside her. "They were curious about their new teammates." Her grin turns sheepish. "Oh but, I guess you and Obi are already familiar with one another, aren't you Reni?"

"Of course." I answer, narrowing my eyes at the smile on Obi's face. I draw my blades, twirling them expertly in my grasp as the sun gleams off of the sleek metal. "He should know curiosity killed the cat."

"Obi?" Silas suddenly gets this murderous look on his face as he recognizes the name I mentioned earlier. He draws his blades to, his movements identical to my own. "I heard you caused my sister some trouble yesterday. You should know I don't tolerate such actions."

"Commander Erwin," Merritt steps closer to him for what I assume to be protection. Her next words make my eyes lock with her own. She's standing quite close. "Are you sure about this? Having criminals join us? They don't look friendly… I don't feel safe."

"And you both should know I was the best at Titan and 3DMG training in my class." Obi crosses his arms, smirking. "Right now I'm in the top ten out of the whole Scout Regiment for this drill you are about to perform."

"Cut it out you three," Erwin gives me, Silas, and Obi a stern look. I lower my blades only slightly. He doesn't even spare a glance at Merritt and walks in our direction. "We have nothing to fear from them. They are our allies."

"Nothing to fear?" Silas smirks. "Have you forgotten where we came from?"

"We came from the underground." I stab my blades into the grass below and lean forward, resting my chin on the hilts. "We have quite the villainy history. Turn your back for a second and we can—"

"Quit it with the huge egos!" Hanje frowns at me and my brother before narrowing her eyes. "Do I need to get the spray bottle again?"

"Ah," I actually quiver. "No that won't be necessary."

"We were just kidding." Silas mumbles.

"Our apologies. Let's get started."

When Erwin comes to a stop in front of me and my brother, I remove my blades from the dirt beneath me and hold them normally. Me and Silas listen intently to Erwin as he explains what we are to do. The whole drill sounds easy enough. I raise my blade in front of me, staring at it before meeting Erwin's eyes.

"So we use our 3DMG to move through the trees and slice through counterfeit Titans. Right?" I clarify.

"Correct." He nods with a smile. "You will need to keep your eyes peeled to spot and get them all."

"That won't be a problem." Silas smirks and looks at me. I nod in agreement, quickly glancing at Obi. He's staring at us.

"Is it true that he is among the top 10 best at this drill?" I ask quietly to Erwin to ensure Obi doesn't hear. I want to clarify this as well. "Or was he just trying to provoke me like last night except with words instead of physical actions?"

"He was telling the truth." He confirms. My cheeks puff out a bit as I frown and stare at the reflection of my fiery eyes on my blade. "He has always been proud of his recorded time of completing this drill."

"I see." I murmur. "He was taunting me then."

The frown on my face deepens as I recall him throwing his tray at me. Me trying to fight him didn't result in anything positive on my end. How could I counter against him without penalizing myself in the process? The answer is obvious. My frown disappears, having been taken over with a poised smile.

"What we need to do then is clear." I turn to Silas. "Silas, let's knock him out of the top 10."

"Let's." He smirks and faces the cluster of trees. "We'll outshine him and render him a loser once we beat his record in this game."

"We'll let our blades do the talking," I state, my eyes briefly locking with Obi's glaring ones. He heard our spoken words. I take steps towards the tree line with Silas. "Do we start whenever we're ready?"

"Life isn't a game you two." Erwin gives me and Silas a grim look. "If you both don't start taking things seriously, things won't end well for you on your first expedition beyond the walls."

"You're implying that we will die?" Silas bluntly states. Erwin's face remains expressionless. "But the thing is… we won't. We only play games to win."

"Losing isn't acceptable. What prompted you to think we don't take games seriously?" I inquire, not even looking in Erwin's direction. My eyes shut as I frown deeply, trying to block out the sensation of his eyes drilling a hole into my head. I recall his words to me last night. He said life isn't a game, _but how does he know that?_ He won't plant false things in my head. "If life isn't a game, what is it? Can you answer that?"

It's quiet for a short moment. The only sound present is the ruffling of leaves as the delicate breeze blows by and the sound of the horses hooves as they shift and chomp away on the tall grass. My eyelids raise and stare ahead into the trees.

Already, I can see giant wooden figures from deep within the miniature forest. They're hidden behind trees, almost blending in with their trunks. A normal person wouldn't be able to see them, but for me and Silas it's no problem. I expected to her Erwin's voice, not Hanje's.

"Life is a game! What else would it be?" She grins, wrapping her arms around me and my brother and holding us to her sides once again. "Life is a big game full of mini games, right? Right now the game is to take down those dummy Titans. I want you both to knock them all out and kick Obi off of the leaderboard!"

"What?!" Obi blurts out, looking utterly betrayed by Hanje.

"Yup! Actually, why not aim for first place? Show me what you got!" Hanje pushes me and my brother towards the treeline. Instead of being annoyed by her physical actions, her words light a fire within us.

"You don't have to tell us twice." Silas smirks, rotating his blades adroitly as he gazes at me. His eyes are blazing with furor. "Ready?"

"Naturally." I mimic his smirking face.

After we both share a resolute nod, we both dash forward and shoot our grappling hooks into the trees simultaneously. As soon as my feet rise off the ground and I'm soaring through the air, a grin replaces my smirk.

I'm gliding on a guiding breeze, the rushing of air on my face feels better than it ever has, branches are passing over my head and the sky remains blue and boundless. There is no barricade over my head. I'm no longer a tethered bird.

 _My wings are finally able to stretch to their full length._

I look over at Silas, seeing him grinning as well. He senses my eyes on him and looks over. I've never seen such a happy and free-spirited look on his face. I'm pretty sure my face matches his. The two of us laugh in complete euphoria. Our laughing stops when we hear zipping behind us.

We both look over our shoulders, seeing Erwin, Hanje, Obi, and Merritt trailing after us. It's evident they are following us to evaluate our performance. When my eyes meet Erwin's calculating ones I look back ahead.

"Silas," I tighten my hold on my blades, my expression now serious. "It's all or nothing."

"Right." Silas maneuvers himself so he's closer to me. "They want to see what we got. Death is inevitable but death by the Titans is not. Let's show our spectators..."

"How the Titan killing game is played."

❤•○●○•❤

Obi grits his teeth as he stares at the two twins flying ahead. They're only criminals, not soldiers. There is no way in the world they could possibly outshine him at this training drill. He glances at his Commander. Why would Erwin let criminals join their ranks so easily? Those two haven't even went through the required three years of training.

Merritt's lips form into a pout. She glances at Erwin. Never has she seen him so keen on watching anyone do this drill. Then again, she only just recently joined the Survey Corps. This is her first year so perhaps he has been keen on watching people do this. He wasn't so interested in watching her however. These criminals can't be _that_ good.

"Hanje," Erwin looks over at the brunette. He knows how smart she is, so he knows there is a reasoning behind her words to the twins. "Why reassure them that life is a game?"

"Because Erwin," Hanje grins as she watches her two new Squad members. "That's what fuels them. Did you see how their eyes lit up? Reni's question about what life really is, truth is, there is no straight answer. Everyone views things differently and they view life as a game. Sure it's a little bizarre and childish, but that's how those two are. There is no doubt they are determined to win and achieve their dreams. I think if we encourage them to win and just let them play this 'game,' they'll display nothing but the best of their skill and benefit us as a whole."

Erwin's eyes move back ahead and focus on the twins. Last night when he denied life being a game to Serenity, she looked severely conflicted. Today when he denied life being a game to them both, Silas appeared sullen while Serenity looked conflicted yet again.

If Serenity is so sure life is a game, why would she ask him what life truly is? He noticed that solicitous and brief expression on her face, like she wanted a real answer. _She's doubting?_ If so, will eventually cloud her future decisions. Silas on the other hand is more difficult to read than his sister. Whether he is doubting or not is unclear.

Hanje is right however. Right now those two are set on believing that life is a game. When Hanje encouraged them and practically told them to win this mini game of taking out dummy Titans, they showed determination. Although they often taunt others along with coming up with rather irritating nicknames, on top of seeming quite proud of their villainy past, their expressions are always tenacious. Despite their cocky nature, there is no doubt they are more than determined to achieve their dreams.

" _This world isn't meant for just the Titans. If that were the case, why would humans even exist? We have every right to be roaming around beyond the walls like they do. So that's why," Serenity brings her hand over her chest, her coppery eyes shining with dedication as the wind blows her hair about. "I'll wipe out every single one of them using every ounce of my strength."_

He's drawn out of his thoughts when he hears laughter. Those new recruits of his are laughing. He raises a brow, wondering if they are taking this seriously.

"What are they… kids?" Merritt questions aloud.

"Not soldiers, that's for sure." Obi mutters furiously.

Serenity and Silas suddenly look over their shoulders. Merritt lets out a yelp and falls back behind Erwin while Obi just glares. Hanje grins widely, nodding to them both while Erwin's icy eyes meet Serenity's flaming ones. The genuinely happy smile on her face fades away and is replaced with her usual frown. Silas suddenly shares the same inexpressive face and the two both turn their gaze over to each other, speaking words he cannot hear. Those two are either frowning or smirking.

"Seriously," Obi frets. "Why are they even here if they are just gonna mess around—?"

The twins suddenly maneuver closer to one another, their forms level as they zip through the air. They bump their wrists together persistently, a ready gesture. Erwin picks up his speed when the twins suddenly hasten their acceleration.

"O-oh wow!" Merritt's eyes broaden in size, sweat forming on her temple as she releases more gas from her tanks to keep up. "What's with that sudden burst of speed?"

"They're using more gas to move faster." Obi shrugs, smirking. "Not being very conserving, are they? They're using too much."

"No." Erwin disagrees, making Obi's smirk drop. "They're preserving it well."

"Definitely." Hanje agrees with Erwin. "I imagine getting gas underground was far from easy so they've learned to use it sparingly."

The twins both simultaneously ready their blades even though the wooden Titans being controlled by other soldiers haven't revealed themselves yet. Erwin's eyes spark in his impressed state. They can see the decoys easily even in their current hidden state. Hanje giggles from beside him, gushing about how she wants to run tests on their eyes.

A wooden Titan abruptly appears in front of their path. Their movements are identical like a mirror image. They both retract their hooks, relaunching them into a thick branch above their heads. Both of their bodies descend quickly towards the ground as they use gravity to gain momentum. It's like they are using the iron wires almost like a playground swing. Or perhaps this whole forest is their playground.

They launch themselves up and forward with profound speed, soaring right towards the cushioned nape. The siblings both perform spiral movements, their battle ready blades making them resemble a saw blade. Once they both cut through the nape successfully, they continue forward without having their speed falter at all.

"Nice cut!" Hanje voices his thoughts.

Silas looks over his shoulder with a grin at the compliment. His eyes briefly lock with Hanje's before he studies the cut he made in the fake Titan's nape. Erwin doesn't fail to miss the teasing glint in his eyes when he looks at his sister. His lips move as he speaks, making Serenity turn around and face the dummy Titan they just cut through as she continues to fly forward.

"She's going to hit a tree if she doesn't turn back around." Obi snickers. Hanje shushes him, trying to catch the words being exchanged ahead. The four spectators can barely hear them.

"What do you mean?" Serenity questions, her lips angling downwards.

"Your cut is more shallow than mine." Silas answers. An actual childlike pout forms on her face at his words. He's right.

Although Erwin only witnessed them cut through one wooden Titan, he is able to have a clear view of their movements. Silas's cuts are forceful and violent, allowing him to cut in deeply to his target to eliminate it without fail. He moves through the air adroitly, his airborne movements energetic and visibly treacherous.

Serenity's cuts on the other hand are indeed not as vigorous as her brother's. Her cuts are more shallow but not overly so to the point it wouldn't take down a Titan. Though her cuts aren't as deep as her brother's, they're more clean and sharp. Her movements in the air are fluid, visibly graceful but physically dangerous like a brisk river current.

Silas obviously has better strength while she has better agility. The gap however isn't that deep. They're nearly even. Should they do more training, they will be completely even.

"Whatever." Serenity's eyes close briefly in stubbornness and she turns back around. "By like what? A few centimeters?"

"Inches."

"Let's not over exaggerate things."

"But I'm not."

"Then I'll make my next cut more deep."

"A game then." Silas smirks. "Just like in the underground. Except instead of it being whoever takes out more MPs win, it'll be whoever makes the most deep cuts in the Titan dummies."

"Alright." Serenity mimics his smirk. "What does the winner get?"

"Winner gets the loser's bread roll at dinner."

"No way am I going to lose then."

❤•○●○•❤

"Looks like I win, Ren." Silas grins at me as he sheathes his blades.

"...Looks so." I agree with a discontent face as a sheath my own blades. With a heavy sigh, I wipe sweat from my brow and turn when I hear four thumps.

Me and Silas both turn, seeing Erwin, Hanje, Obi, and Merritt. Erwin has a smile on his face, the same one I once saw when we were briefly trapped in that tunnel underground. I shiver. Hanje is clapping her hands like a proud parent, Merritt looks shaken, and Obi looks outraged. I can't hold back a smirk and bring my hand to my hip, shifting my weight.

"I'm guessing by your expression we beat your record." I state.

"Correct or no?" Silas crosses his arms, smirking as well. "Aw, that's too bad."

"Shut up—!" Obi starts. Hanje cuts him off.

"You both were amazing!" Hanje grins widely and runs over to us. "Good game!"

Her words actually make me smile genuinely for once. I nod at her and Silas gives a thumbs up. My lips then part in surprise when Erwin is in front of me. He holds out his hand, making me blink a few times.

"You performed very well. I look forward to working with you, Serenity." Erwin smiles. It isn't that infuriating smirk, but a cordial smile. My eyes then move to stare into his bright ones that seem to sparkle in the sun. I fail to notice Merritt's envious look.

"Thanks, and I with you." I speak tacitly and place my hand in his for a shake. His hand is rough and a lot bigger than mine. I almost feel tiny. My eyes narrow and look to the ground.

"...You're blushing." Silas moves over and whispers in my ear. I just now realize the almost scorching warmness in my cheeks. That makes me tear my hand out of Erwin's grasp and take a large step back.

"N-no I'm not! It's hot out here and swinging around blades is tiresome."

"Excuses, excuses," Hanje begins with this evil, _evil_ , smile that makes me growl.

"Don't go acting like that, Hanje." I start, returning her evil smile. "I would never make a move on your beloved boyfri—"

Hanje silences me with her spray bottle.

❤•○●○•❤

 **I'll let you guys imagine Erwin's expression...** **(¬‿¬)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Toreh** : **Thank you! Writing the twins is actually very enjoyable! ❤**

 **Guest : Thank you so much! ❤**

•○●○•

 **Sorry for the horribly long wait, and I apologize for any errors there may be!**

 **I hope this chapter is enjoyable!**

❤•○●○•❤

"Horseback riding is next?" I ask with maybe a little too much excitement. Me and Silas both wear eager grins as we stare at the stables in front of us. The wooden building is huge, evidently the home to at least a hundred of horses.

"Yes." Hanje nods in confirmation with her own smile. She signals for us to follow her inside. "Today we're going to get you both geared up with your very own horse. Merritt here is very good with riding horses. I'd say she's the best actually, especially with bonding with the animals."

"Oh?" I blink and look over at Merritt who now has a blush spread across her cheeks at the praise. She brings her hand to the back of her neck almost sheepishly. Silas's next words results in Merritt making a long face. I shrug and look back ahead with a smirk.

"I'm sure it won't be a problem to beat her record too."

Hange shakes her head with a disappointed groan at me and Silas, but she keeps quiet. Merritt is the only one who tagged along with us. Obi stayed behind at the dummy Titan obstacle course to accomplish his goal of performing better than me and Silas had. Erwin was stopped by one of his subordinates to take a look at some papers.

Erwin being away makes me feel at ease. The main reason being Hanje and Silas won't be able to tease me and spout nonsense such as "I have a thing for him." Just the thought makes my eyes narrow. I have no feelings for that man whatsoever. He's just the annoying Head Honcho that I have to put up with until the Titans are eradicated.

Once the four of us step into the stables, the overpowering smell of what I assume to be the horses floods into my nose. The smell makes my nose scrunch up in distaste. It's not a horrible smell since I have far worse smells from the underground to compare it to, but it's not a very good smell either. It's the smell of ammonia, and perhaps the smell of excrement. I hold back the urge to bring my hand over my nose unlike Silas. He already has his nose covered.

My eyes glide around the stable's interior, taking in all the golden straw used to feed the animals that is in neat piles scattered about, as well as the buckets of water. Hanging in front of each horse stall is a saddle and bridle, belonging to whatever horse is present in the stall. One horse however catches my attention due to the fact it's the one closest to me and sticking its head out of its oak stall.

I approach the horse, my eyes broadening. Standing next to this creature and actually being up close makes me realize just how big they are. Compared to this thing, I'm tiny, almost like a mouse. This horse is even bigger than Erwin's giant form, I guarantee it.

Its coat is a light gray, almost white but not quite. Its mane is an even darker gray, like dark ashes from a fire with hues of brown. When my eyes meet its russet ones, my breath seems to catch in my throat. Its eyes are soulful and just staring into them alone makes it clear just how powerful it is.

I thought I was the one studying this creature, but it feels like the tables have turned and I'm the one being studied instead. It's like it's staring right into me and I suddenly feel vulnerable and inferior. Leisurely, my hand raises and settles over the soft bridge of its nose. I swallow forcefully, staring at my trembling fingers.

How can something so beautiful make me feel so much unease? Is it the size? The mind-boggling judgement and intelligence in its eyes? The fact that I know this thing can overpower me in an instant? Is it because horse riding is something I am not familiar with at all? Cold sweat drips down my temple. This can't be for real, _am I scared?_ No way, that's too pathetic. Just what am I feeling then?

"Afraid that horse is taken, Reni." Hanje appears at my side with a smile. I quickly withdraw my hand, holding it tightly with my other to quell the noticeable quivering of my appendages. That teasing smile gives me a hint about who this horse belongs to.

"Let me guess," I begin after I find my voice, compelling my lips to curve upwards into a smirk. "This horse belongs to your boyfri—"

She cuts me off by holding up a spray bottle, aiming it right between my eyes. I hold up my hands in a surrender gesture promptly. To my complete relief she doesn't spray me, but she does snicker to my annoyance. She turns to Merritt who instantly straightens her posture as a result.

"Merritt, can you pick a couple horses out for these two?"

"Yes!" Merritt says with much excitement. "Thank you, Squad Leader."

"No problemo." Hanje grins, watching as Merritt ventures further into the stables for the perfect horses for us.

"Wait," Silas begins, crossing his arms with a miffed expression. "We don't pick our own horses?"

"No way." Hanje waves her hand in objection to his words. "You can't just pick out your own horse, especially not you two."

"Why thanks. That wasn't offending at all." I speak dully, my facial expression just as dull. "Nevertheless, why is she picking out our horses? I would feel better if someone of high ranking like you were to do that."

"Merritt is one of our best horse riders." Hanje explains, flicking my forehead and making me stumble backwards. I growl and slap my hands over my forehead. "Not only that, she knows all these animals very well for spending so much time in the stables. It's important to pick a horse that has a personality similar to your own."

"...Those things have personalities?" Silas raises a brow and Hanje sighs loudly, bringing her hands to her hips.

"Of course they do! Now listen, don't you two get all cocky during this horse riding lesson, okay? Believe it or not it's actually quite dangerous. Horses have a powerful kick that can easily injure you severely, possibly even kill you."

"Kill?" I repeat almost monotonously. Forcing a smirk, I close my eyes and fold my arms over my chest. I ignore the lone drop of sweat trickling down my temple. "Doubt it. Besides, me and Silas been in plenty of near death situations."

"Right." Silas nods with a grin. "Being killed by an animal such as these just won't happen. We're not frightened one bit. Nice try though, Squad Leader."

"...You both are hopeless." Hanje mutters, looking between us both dully. Her eyes linger on me for a moment and her head tilts almost curiously. I put on my best glare and shift my weight.

"Hopeless? I think not. However, can we at least wait outside? The smell in here is giving me a headache."

I don't wait for her answer and turn around on my heels, striding towards the door we came in. My fists hang freely at my sides and my jaw is tight. Just as my hand reaches towards the door, Hanje's voice makes me pause.

"You're not scared, are you Reni?" She snickers, her breath against my ear. Against my ear—

I fleetly recoil away from her, bringing my hand over my ear with an angry scowl and rubbing at it. How did she get so close without me noticing? But more importantly, how did she come to that conclusion? She's grinning slyly, and her glasses are flashing.

"What's there to be frightened about?" I growl out between my teeth.

"Oh, I don't know." Hanje brings her finger to her chin, her grin still present. "What is there to be frightened about?"

My eyes narrow. Is that her way of asking me what's the matter? I'm not scared. That just isn't possible. More than anything, I guess I'm just feeling a little fidgety. Horseback riding is something I've never done before. I'm only eager to get started and show everyone up.

"Nothing." I look away from her and close my eyes. "Nothing at all."

"Squad Leader," Silas speaks, making Hanje look over at him. His hands are in his pockets and his lips are pressed together. "Can we wait outside or not? This smell really does bring about a headache."

"And what about you…?" Hanje asks, glasses gleaming brightly. "Are you scared too?"

"What?" Silas glares and looks in her direction only to leap backwards at her closeness. She had almost magically appeared beside him. "Ever heard of personal space?! Why would we be scared of doing something so simple?"

"Squad Leader!" Merritt calls out from deeper within the stables, coming to our, dare I say it, rescue from Hanje's irritating prying.

I watch with bitter eyes as Hanje starts walking towards Merritt who is busy pulling two horses out of two different stalls. My eyelids squeeze together, my nose scrunching up as I inhale deeply from it. Silas sighs dramatically from next to me.

"She's starting to get real annoying," He mutters and starts taking steps towards the door I was trying to escape through earlier. I hum in agreement and trail after him idly.

Stepping back into the outdoors is a day and night difference. I feel as if I'm breathing in this fresh air for the first time all over again. The musty air within the stables was really getting to me. I turn my head and look over at Silas.

He's standing amidst the tall grass, his arms crossed and his head angled towards the sky as he bathes in the sun. His amber eyes are as golden as I've ever seen them. The lighting on the surface almost makes him look like a whole different person.

"Are you scared?" Silas asks all of a sudden. I scoff and look off to the side. His question almost offends me. I feel his eyes boring into the side of my head and my hard eyes gradually soften. He knows me too well.

"I don't think I am, no." I murmur in response. "But I do feel the same as I did when trying to 3DMG for the first time. It's just something new, that's all. I got over that quickly like I'll get over this quickly. What about you?"

"No." Silas shrugs. "Like you said, it's just something new. I'm sure it won't be a problem for us to master 'horseback riding.' We've certainly faced more difficult obstacles."

"Yeah." I nod in agreement, then we enter silence.

A soft breeze blows and the distant sound of birds echo. My head tilts to the side and I cross my arms. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Silas shifting from one foot to the other. I turn to him.

"I would say 'I can't wait for this to be over so we can do nothing,' but…"

"We have to 'run until we drop pathetically' after this, right?" Silas steals the remainder of the words from my mouth.

"Exactly. What's the point of even doing these silly exercises? The Head Honcho is already fully aware of our 3DMG abilities, not to mention our accurate aim and lethal cuts."

"I couldn't agree more. And what's the point of being able to run for long periods of time?" He frowns. "I don't see the point at all if we are going to be relying on horses to do all the running for us."

"It makes no sense." I agree with a miffed sigh.

"Well whatever the reason, we will prevail either way." Silas smirks and holds out his fist. I return the gesture and press my fist against his with a smile of my own. The sounds of footsteps and hooves makes up turn around.

Hanje and Merritt exit the stables. Merritt is holding the reins of two horses, guiding them with much love and care towards us. One of the horses has a tannish gold coat with black stockings, along with black mane. _It's stunning._ The other one is just as striking, its whole form being pitch black with a white mark adorning its forehead. Its coat shines beneath the sun and I find myself staring at its mane. I'm almost convinced that thing has better hair than me.

"Alright," Merritt grins as she guides the horses closer to us. I raise a brow at her overly delighted tone. She almost seems like a whole different person around these animals. She's so much more relaxed and sure of herself. Her eyes meet mine and she smiles, holding out the reins. "Here you go."

Drawing in an inaudible breath, I reach out and take the reins. My eyes bore into them before moving up and at my horse. It's big like Erwin's horse, it's form towering over me. The shadow of it covers my whole body entirely. My eyes meet its dark brown ones that almost appear black. Once again, it feels like I'm being the one studied instead.

The horse suddenly neighs loudly, pawing the ground below it fiercely. It's tail swishes and it's nostrils flare. I yelp and drop the reins, jumping backwards. I can easily hear my pulse racing in my ears. This thing is glaring at me.

"What's this thing's problem?!" I growl, turning and glaring at Merritt. She recoils and shifts closer to Hanje. "Take this thing back and bring me a different one."

"Why?" Hanje speaks up, crossing her arms with a sly smile. She grabs the reins of my horse, leading it closer to me. "Everyone starts out like this. Can you not handle it?"

"T-this thing is too temperamental." I retort and take a single backwards step.

"I knew you were scared!" Hanje suddenly cheers. My eye twitches.

"She's not scared." Silas joins in. I look over at my brother thankfully. He's holding the reins of his own horse. His eyes are narrowed as he gazes at Hanje.

"How do you know?" Hanje asks, thoroughly curious. She inches closer to him and Silas looks off to the side.

"Because I'm her brother. I've been with her my whole life. I'm easily able to tell if she's scared, and right now she is nothing of the sorts. Besides, there is only one thing she's scared of."

"Tell me!" Hanje pleads and Silas smirks, running his free hand through his hair.

"No."

"SiSi!" Hanje whines and grabs onto his arm, yanking it. Silas cringes in disgust at the nickname. "Please~!"

"Enough!" I pipe up, scowling. "What I'm scared of is none of your business. It's not even a fear that will slow me down or hinder my ability. Let's focus on the situation at hand." My eyes move to Merritt and she pales. "What are we supposed to do with these things?"

"T-take them over to the round pen over there and practice riding them." She stutters fearfully.

"And you are absolutely sure this horse is best suited for me?" I question.

"O-of course! H-he doesn't really open up to people instantly, but he's much like you personality wise."

"And what do you know about my personality?" I question further, and she gulps. She's trembling from head to toe. Her lips remain sealed. I tilt my head lazily. "Your silence tells me you're too frightened to reply or that you know nothing. I think both are accurate actually. Well then, I don't know if you gave me this temperamental horse to make this game harder on me or what, but I do love a challenge. I hope you're ready to lose your first-place spot— Ack!"

"Reni, stop being mean to your squad member." Hanje orders, her scolding eyes holding mine. However, I manage to break my eyes away to glare at the spray bottle responsible for drenching my face. "And quick being cocky."

"I'm not here to make friends or enemies. Believe me, if I wanted to make an enemy with her I'd have punched her long ago." I grab the reins of my horse, ignoring how my fingers tremble. "And cocky? That's not accurate."

"You all are just underestimating our abilities." Silas steals the words from my mouth. "Anyways, what do I call this horse? Its name, what is it?"

"...They don't have names yet." Merritt whispers, looking like she's fighting to hold back tears.

"Toughen up already," I give her an inexpressive look. "What are you crying about? How can you fight Titans and cry so easily?"

"I'd understand if you were crying because she punched you," Silas begins, frowning. "But she only spoke words—"

"F-Fine! If you both are so sure of yourselves, you can learn horseback riding on your own!" Merritt blurts out and brings her hands over her face. She suddenly turns on her heels and runs off. Me and Silas blink and stare after her.

"Well, it's not like we needed her help anyway." I mutter.

"Seriously, we could've gotten these horses out of the stables by ourselves. Horseback riding is literally self-explanatory."

Feeling an intense pair of eyes on me, I turn my head and look at Hanje. Silas looks over at her too. A dim expression is on her face as she stares at us both.

"What?" We both tilt our heads, speaking simultaneously.

❤•○●○•❤

Erwin taps his pen against is desk, staring down at the long-distance scouting formation chart he had drawn out. His eyes narrow in thought, thinking over where he should position the newly recruited twins. Since they are in Hanje's Squad, Squad Four, they are naturally positioned in the center of the formation. However, he's still trying to decide if they should be in the front or back. With their advanced eyes, they would probably be more useful in the front to scout out Titans. _On the other hand though, those two can also link their vision somehow—_

A knock on his door interrupts his train of thought. Despite that, his eyes don't move away from the paper in front of him. The tapping of his pen stops.

"Come in." He speaks, his voice loud and clear. His door opens, and the sound of footsteps reach his ears along with an exasperated sigh. He looks up and sees Hanje. She almost looks exhausted and he instantly knows why. He looks back at his paper.

"Those twins are a handful." She exhales as she strides closer to his desk. Her arms fold over her chest and she leans against his bookshelf.

"You are the one who wanted them in your squad." Erwin reminds her. "Are they causing you trouble?"

"They're just so arrogant. They made Merritt cry. But," Hanje gives a thumb up. "It's nothing the spray bottles don't fix. I drenched them good!"

"I see." Erwin sighs. Merritt is a naturally sensitive person. He's curious about how they made her cry but refrains from asking. "Where are the twins now?"

"Oh, they're still in horse training."

"And you're not with them? Leaving those two alone is brash." Erwin folds his arms atop his desk. He figured since Hanje came here they were done already.

"Not really. Those two are the most determined people I've ever met."

"That's good at least. How is their training going then? I'd like to move on to the next phase as soon as possible with them."

Erwin gazes at Hanje silently, awaiting her answer. Her smiles gradually and at a very slow pace disappears. She tilts her head back to gaze at the ceiling. It's silent for a long moment and Erwin raises a brow.

"Hanje?"

"I think they met their match."

That was something he didn't expect to hear at all. He blinks in surprise, leaning back in his chair. _Met their match?_ He crosses his arms over his chest, his fingers drumming against his bicep.

"How so?"

"Reni can't whistle and has made that horse hate her in record time. SiSi is in the same boat, except his horse is scared of him. However, he can kind of whistle. It sounds more like a wheezing sound though and is hardly loud enough. See for yourself." She sighs and points out the window.

Erwin stands and move towards the large window. His blue eyes gaze out of it and scan across the ground from his position from one of the higher floors of the building. There are quite a few soldiers out training and maintaining their equipment. His eyes are drawn to a horse in one of the round training pens, then drawn to a familiar person in that same pen.

Silas is chasing after his black horse, obviously attempting to ride it. The horse keeps running away from him and changing directions swiftly, preventing him from even coming near it. Silas then slips in a puddle of mud and tumbles to the ground. He gets a face full of dirt. Even from inside, Erwin can hear his frustrated yells. It's a very pitiful sight.

In the neighboring pen is Serenity and her buckskin horse. He looks over just in time to see her horse start trampling towards her. Erwin's eyes widen as she runs away from the horse and attempts to climb over the fence. She's not fast enough and the horse headbutts her from behind and sends her flying out of the pen. She rolls more than a few times. Erwin almost cringes.

"Ouch." Hanje seems to voice his thoughts.

"Why aren't you helping them?" He turns to Hanje.

"They don't want help since horseback riding is oh so 'self-explanatory.' So, I told them to go ahead and do things their way. Let's see how long it takes before they ask for help." She laughs, truly amused. "They say we're underestimating their skills."

"I don't see any skills of the sort here." He frowns.

"Right?" Hanje grins. "It's kind of funny to watch them struggle though."

"I agree." Erwin slowly finds himself smirking as he looks back out the window. He stares at Silas's horse. "I don't recall ever seeing that horse before."

"That's because it's a fairly young horse who's never been ridden before." Hanje says.

"I assume that horse was given to him on purpose then." Erwin states more than asks. His eyes move to Serenity's horse. "And that is the temperamental horse, right?"

"Yup. Nobody is able to go near that horse except for Merritt. We decided to give them those horses on purpose to teach them a lesson." Hanje laughs and looks over at Erwin with a grin. "You won't believe what Reni named her horse."

"What did she name it?"

❤•○●○•❤

"I've had it with you…" I gnarl as I shakily push myself up and onto my hands and knees. "Fleabag."

My eyes glare ahead and at this disgrace of a horse in the pen. It's trotting around almost like it's celebrating what it did to me. I have lost count long ago of how many times that thing has knocked me down and sent me flying. My jaw locks and my eyes narrow into thin slits. Sweat is trickling down my face. _So much sweat._ For the first time ever, I'm cursing the sun for its existence.

I lick my dry lips, my head lowering as I draw in a breath. My fingers curl and tangle into the grass beneath me, and dirt wedges beneath my fingernails. Merritt has some nerve sticking this fleabag on me. Of all the horses that were in that stables, of all the horses she could've chosen, she gave me this one. I suppose I shouldn't put the blame on her though. Hanje was with her after all.

Are they trying to mess with me? Attempting to give me a game to play that is too hard to win? Unfortunately for them, I've never lost a game before and I never will. They won't beat me. Slowly, a wide grin forms on my face as my head rises. I'll show them all there is nothing I cannot do. I'll show this horse who's boss. I'll show them all. My shoulders quiver as I laugh and rise onto my feet.

"Hey Fleabag," I start taking wobbly steps closer to the horse, my head throbbing. "You may have given me a headache and plenty of bruises… but guess what?" My hands grip the wood railing tightly and I lean forward against it. "I won't give up. You hear me? You will yield to me and obey my every command. Got that? I'll stay out here all night if I have too—"

"Ren." Silas cuts me off. I look over at him. He's sitting on the ground and leaning against the outside of the pen his horse is in, sweating much like I am. "You sound like a psychopath."

"Well how else am I going to get this horse to listen to me?" I cross my arms over my chest, glaring at the horse. "Clearly planting fear in it is the only way."

"My horse is terrified of me but still won't let me anywhere near it." Silas sighs and stands up, making his way towards me. "Evidently we have to do something else to show we are the dominant ones."

"What do we do then? Threaten the things with our swords?"

"I'm not sure." Silas comes to a stop beside me, looking back and forth between our horses. "Let's think of all the possible ways to do this."

"Alright." I draw one of my blades and move over to a patch of dirt, crouching down. "Shall we write out the things that failed so far?"

"Yes." He nods and crouches down across from me. "Yelling at them does not work."

"Yes." I write what he said down with my blade and draw an "x" by it. "It seems no commands work at all."

"Agreed." Silas brings his finger to his chin in thought as I jot that down. "Inflicting fear doesn't work either."

"Right," I mutter, writing that down to and also placing an "x" by that. "Throwing grass at them doesn't work either."

"And whistling doesn't work even though Hanje claimed that's how you call the things over."

"Si," I look up at him as a thought strikes me. "Try whistling at my horse and see if it comes over to you."

"Alright." He nods and stands up, walking over to the pen my horse is in. Once he nears it and my horse takes notice to him, he whistles. My horse doesn't react at all. Silas turns to me with a frown. "What does this mean then? It's as if these things aren't trained, as if they have no experience at all."

We stare at each other for a long moment, both of us silent. The soft breeze blows our hair around and the sound of chirping bugs travels with it. Realization dawns on us both. It makes perfect sense.

"They gave us faulty horses." I state. "I knew there was something wrong with these things, but I didn't think it to be this extreme. Fleabag had no qualms with Merritt touching it, but when I attempt to even get close to it, it throws a fit."

"And my horse practically cries like a baby whenever I look at it." Silas looks at his horse, prompting it to neigh loudly in distress. "It's safe to say they have done this on purpose."

"Ha!" I laugh loudly and rise onto my feet. "I knew it! They must think they're so funny, giving us horses that have been through no training at all!"

"We've figured it out." Silas smirks, laughing loudly along with me. "They are underestimating us once again. We will prevail! They'll be in for a huge surprise when we manage to train these things ourselves!"

"Who needs pre-trained horses?!"

"Not us!"

"You hear us, Squad Leader Hanje?! Merritt?! Commander?!" I roar loudly and look around for them. "You have lost this game!"

We both continue to laugh loudly, paying no mind to the nearby soldiers who look over at us like we're mentally deranged. I cannot deny it feels good to laugh proudly like this along with my brother. When our intense laughter begins to die down, we hunch over to try to catch our breaths. An extra set of feet catches my attention. The sight causes me and Silas to straighten up and look over.

A girl a couple inches shorter than myself is standing there. Her big and round light brown eyes gaze at us in either worry or like we're weird. I can't quite tell. Her ginger hair is short and only reaches her chin. She's a pretty girl. Her lips curve upwards into a slight smile.

"How can we help you?" Silas asks.

"I was just letting you both know that it's lunchtime." She informs sheepishly. "You both didn't seem to notice."

That's when I take the time to look around. The number of soldiers out here is indeed much less. Looking over at the closest door leading into to the building, I can see soldiers stepping through it. I look back at this girl in front of me. She's radiating with nothing but kindness.

 _Lunchtime she said?_ As if on que, my stomach growls. I definitely need more food in my system besides the odd, yet tasty peach Erwin gave me. I need water too. I'm sure Silas is thinking the same thing.

"I see." I smile and close my eyes. "Thank you for informing us."

"You have my thanks as well." Silas nods then looks at me. "Let's replenish and then return out here afterwards."

"Yes. We will tame the beasts then."

We both give a small bow in thanks to the kind girl before turning and making our way inside. As soon as we enter the building the temperature drops a few degrees and I nearly sigh out loud in bliss. This building does wonders of trapping the heat outside.

"We did it again." Silas suddenly says. I look over at him curiously.

"Did what?"

"The formal tones and vocabulary."

"Dang it you're right. I don't think we'll ever be able to break that habit."

On our way to the cafeteria, I take note of how some people shy away from me and Silas. Are they really that uneasy about our presence here? Well it's not like I can blame them. We are criminals from the underground. Also, maybe our loud laughing freaked them out more than I originally thought.

Once we reach our destination, we get our trays of food with no trouble at all. Everything goes quite smoothly and that's a first for me. We both take our seats by a small table positioned by the window. I can see our horses easily from where we are seated. My eyes take in the food in front of me.

It's not a whole lot, but it is a step above from the underground for sure. The lunch tray consists of a steamed potato and a warm bread roll, along with a small bowl of some kind of soup. I instantly go for the bread roll first. It's only natural since I didn't get one earlier like I desired.

As soon as I take a bite from it, I take note of how warm and moist it is. I actually hum aloud, briefly getting lost in my own bread paradise. I then drink a decent portion of water from my cup.

"One thing is certain," Silas begins through a mouthful. "The food here is not bad at all."

"This is my first real meal since coming up here." I sigh, moving to try the soup. Already I can feel my headache fading away. "I needed this."

"I didn't see any peaches being served though." He frowns. "I wonder where the Commander got them."

"Were they at breakfast? Maybe it's a breakfast food."

"If they were I missed them or arrived too late to get one."

"Unfortunate. I'm actually craving a peach right now. I wonder if he has a secret stash somewhere."

"We should find it if he does."

"Speaking of him, I'm curious to where he ran off too." I muse, finishing off the soup. "Hanje too."

"Same. I'm glad Hanje left us alone to win this game ourselves."

"Yup. We don't need a babysitter."

"Mhm." Silas hums in agreement, biting into his potato. "Especially a babysitter who underestimates us."

"Exactly." I grin and lean back in my chair. "Let us forge a strategy to tame the beasts outside. First, we need to study them."

"Great idea." Silas grins as well. "We should watch them closely and take notes on their actions, likes and dislikes, things like that to determine their true nature."

"Yes." I grab my cup and take another long drink. Setting it aside, I gaze out the window. "We will need a notepad to write down our discoveries. The dirt outside isn't reliable."

"Do you think Hanje would have one?" Silas asks after he gets a drink as well. "She seems like the type that would have plenty."

"I think so. Shall we hunt her down then as soon as we're done here?"

"Of course."

As soon as we finish our lunch, me and Silas stand from our seats. We have every intention of leaving our mess until we catch sight of Levi entering the room. His narrow and dull eyes roam over to us almost naturally, then roam over to our mess still on the table, then finally back to us. Those already intimidating eyes of his grow impossibly even more so. Pain memory from my nose being nearly broken by him shows up at my doorstep. He begins sauntering towards us, and me and Silas both pale, instantly quivering in fear.

"Where do you two brats think you're going? Leaving your mess behind?" Levi glares.

"W-we're sorry!" I blurt and grab my tray and stack it on top of Silas's.

"We were just going to get napkins to wipe the table down!" Silas darts over to where the napkins are. "R-Ren, do we have any more water over there?"

"No! Bring some!" I babble, picking up any crumbs I see hurriedly. "And a mop! T-the floor is disgusting!"

"On it! Let's clean the window too while we're at it!"

"Yes!"

"Under the table better be clean too, brats." Levi orders, glowering.

"As you wish!" Silas bows down lowly, and I mimic him comically. It's only then Levi stops in his advance, and it's only after we clean to the best of our ability when we can search for Hanje.

"Tell you what," I begin while we search. We are now wandering aimlessly through this hulking building and opening random doors. "I never thought the day would come where I would find someone scary."

"He's terrifying." Silas agrees, referring to Levi as he opens a door too.

"And way too strong." I mutter, waving Silas over so we can head on up to the next floor. "It's annoying knowing he can beat us up with zero problems."

Cleaning has taken longer than I would have liked, and this search for Hanje is taking even longer. My lips angle downwards and form into a frown. I want to get back outside and tame Fleabag as soon as possible to prove to everyone I'm on a whole other level. Silas is starting to look impatient like I am.

We've searched the countless floors, now we're heading up to another upper floor. Just where is Hanje at? Giving up on this search crossed my mind once but that's out of the question. I'm treating this as a game as well. Everything is a game, life included. My mind drifts off to Erwin and my frown deepens. That guy has no clue what he's talking about.

Once we reach the next floor I notice there isn't that many soldiers up here. It's quiet and almost vacant. _It's much cleaner than the other floors too._ Is this where higher up soldiers reside such as Levi? That has to be it. These doors up here also have name tags on them.

"We have to be getting close." Silas says as we walk down the hall. I nod in agreement, our eyes landing on a door that has Hanje's name on it.

"Warmer," I whisper as we draw closer to it.

"Warmer," He grins.

"On fire!" We both cheer and grip the doorknob, turning it only to discover it's locked. Our identical eyes meet. "Huh?"

"Should we knock?" I ask, looking over at Silas.

"I guess." He answers then knocks on the door. More than a few seconds pass by and there is no response. "Is she ignoring us?"

"That or she isn't even in here." I grumble, turning my head and peering down the hall. My eyes land on the door at the very end. The name "Erwin Smith" is labeled on it. "We could try asking the Head Honcho."

"Are you sure you don't just want to flirt with him again—?"

"I was _not_ flirting. Flirting is something I do not do and will not do _ever_." I cut him off with a glare. He's holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Sure, he's good looking. But he is a jerk. Did you already forget what he said? Implying that we will die beyond the walls?"

"No, I haven't." Silas's eyes narrow at that. He sighs and elbows me. "I was only teasing, sorry. It's just not often I seen another person cause my dear sister to blush."

"Alright enough with this conversation." I groan and start walking towards Erwin's door. "I'm sure he will at least have an idea of where Hanje is. If not, I'm sure he will at least have a notepad."

"I agree." He nods, walking by my side. I glance at him with a slight pout.

"I can't wait til you meet someone who can make you blush."

"Not likely."

"Ah wait, I'm pretty sure I can make you blush. Remember that time when you ate—?"

"Shut it!" He yells right when we reach the door, his cheeks darkening.

I open the door, laughing noisily as I do while Silas tries to get me to shut up with petty words. Tears of laughter gather at the corner of my eyes and I wipe at them, stumbling into the room when Silas pushes me. I breathe in deeply, straightening up with a grin. Instantly my eyes are drawn to Erwin sitting just ahead. His eyes are on me too.

He's situated at a desk. This room seems to be his office. I openly look around, letting my eyes roam over the large bookshelves that take up both sides on the room along the walls. The wooden floors and the dark colored wall make this room look so gloomy. However, the large patterned window framed by light curtains just behind his desk provides a large amount of natural lighting that saves this place from looking overly so.

"Hello, Head Honcho." I greet, stepping further into the room and onto the patterned rug with my hands on my hips. "So, this is where you ran off too."

"Greetings." Silas crosses his arms over his chest, moving to stand by me. "Have you seen Squad Leader Hanje?"

He doesn't answer us which prompts me to frown. Those striking eyes of his drift behind us and I hear the shutting of the door. Before I can turn around, I feel someone's breath against my ear and I shiver in unease.

"I'm right here." Hanje's voice whispers. I turn my head, seeing her standing by me and smiling freakishly, her glasses gleaming so bright they temporarily blind me. I'm barely able to hold back a squeak as I leap away from her. My hands move over my ear.

"Quit doing that!" I growl angrily. She merely laughs in amusement and brings her hands to her hips.

"Leave and re-enter." She says and points at the door we came in from.

"Why?" Silas frowns.

"You both need to learn how to knock before entering a room." She explains casually. "Hurry up now. You interrupted mine and Erwin's conversation."

"Well if we leave and re-enter, that'll only make you both have to wait longer before you can continue where you left off." I begin, holding my hand out to the side. "Time is of great importance. You see, me and Silas are in a hurry as well…" I trail off when Hanje starts glaring at me with a very angry expression. I had no clue she was capable of looking this scary. With those gleaming glasses she looks like the kind of monster you would fear finding under a bed. "Uh… right."

"We'll be back then." Silas mutters and grabs my hand, hurriedly dragging me out the door along with him. He closes the door and lets out a breath, muttering how stupid this is. He knocks on the door.

"Yes?" Hanje's voice calls out from the other side. I fight the urge to bang my head against the wall. "Who is it?"

"Silas and Serenity." Sila answers, his tone notably annoyed.

"Silas and Serenity who?"

"Silas Rose and Serenity Rose!" I answer loudly and bang on the door. Feeling a sting, I hiss and withdraw my hand. Easily I can see a splinter buried in my finger. "...Marvelous."

"Should I let them in, Erwin?"

"Yes." Erwin answers, then the door opens.

I come stomping back in along with Silas, glaring at Hanje who is laughing in amusement. Why is it that so far, all these higher ups get amused over our misery? I suck in a breath and hold up my hand, my splinter making my finger throb.

"Squad Leader Hanje, I have just received a splinter. Do you have a needle, so I can remove it?" I ask firmly.

"Let me see!" Hanje asks in excitement, making me raise a brow. Why is she so excited? Her hand grabs my wrist and yanks with more force than necessary. I nearly fall into her. She holds my hand up close to her face, her eyes boring into it. "Yes. That is a splinter. Karma hurts, doesn't it?"

"I did this to myself, so it is not karma." I state.

"Sure." She rolls her eyes and pulls a needle out of her pocket. "I'll get this out for you. Over here now."

"Should I be concerned as to why you carry around a needle?" Silas asks with a perplexed expression.

Hanje drags me against my will towards Erwin's desk. She places my hand on the structure, my palm resting on the cold wood. Almost inaudible giggles seep from her lips as she starts digging into my flesh. My face twists in disgust, not at the tiny trickle of blood oozing out, but rather her enthusiasm. It almost reminds me of the time she was boasting about how fascinating Titans are. She's very weird all right.

"Hanje, if you dissect my sister more than what's necessary I'll have to hurt you." Silas speaks up. I turn and look at him, seeing him standing by my side. He throws his arm over my shoulders.

"Don't worry." She waves him off, her answer delayed. It's obvious it took a while for Silas's words to process. I'm starting to view her as more than weird. It's kind of funny. I have the sudden urge to curve my lips upwards. Despite that, I divert my attention from her to look at Erwin.

He's not paying us any mind at all. It seems like he's in his own little world as he stares at the very large piece of paper on his desk. My eyes move to study it. It's a very large diagram. I instantly conclude he is the one who drawn it out. It consists of various versions of the same shape that are spread out in an organized fashion, and dotted lines around certain portions as if to separate them.

"What is this?" I ask curiously and point a finger at it. Erwin's eyes move to me.

"The Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation." He answers before looking back down at the paper. "It's the formation we use beyond the walls."

"That's a mouthful." Silas joins in, studying the paper much like I am.

"And what do these shapes represent?" I question.

"The position of the soldiers. They are divided into different groups. There are forward scouts, support, command, relay, cart guards, standby, and rear guard." Erwin explains, pointing to each section as he names them. He then explains the role of each group.

The forward scouts are positioned along the entire front of the formation. They apparently come in contact with Titans the most, and it's their job to fire "red smoke rounds" to warn everyone. The support team that is positioned just behind the forward scouts are to help in combat if necessary. Command is of course where Erwin himself is positioned. His job is to judge the whole the whole situation and fire a "green smoke round" to show the whole formation where to go in order to avoid Titan contact. Relay teams are supposed to fire smoke rounds bidirectionally. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory.

I'm actually impressed with whoever designed this formation. It seems very clever. I gather that the point of it is to avoid Titans. My lips purse. If we avoid the Titans, how will we eradicate them all? Perhaps we will discover some kind of poison to kill them off though somewhere in the world. I suppose that will kill them off faster than taking them down one by one.

"So where would me and my sister be positioned?" Silas asks, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"That's what I'm trying to decide currently." Erwin informs and gazes at me. "I know you once stated you can't tell me exactly how far you can see. But can you give me a rough estimate?"

"That's a tough question…" I murmur and tap my finger against my cheek. "A couple miles maybe? I'm no expert on measuring distance with just my eyes alone though."

"I can't give you a straight answer myself." Silas says.

"That's fine. Either way you both can see much farther than the average human. Also, is there a certain range you two have to be in to link your vision?"

"Another tough question." I sigh and meet his eyes. "I don't know. There is never a moment where me and Silas are far apart from each other. Staying close comes with the twin package you know— ow!" I hiss suddenly and turn to glare at Hanje. She's dabbing my finger with some kind of fabric. "What is that?!"

"It's an alcohol wipe." She explains casually. "Stay still."

"What is the purpose of that?" Silas turns and glares at her as well.

"To disinfect." She answers and looks at us both. "You guys never heard of this stuff? I guess that's not surprising considering where you came from."

"As long as it's necessary I suppose..." I grumble out. She grins at me then looks towards Erwin.

"I plan on testing them both as soon as possible to get a definite answer to your questions."

"You better not try any freaky operations." I glower, recalling how she wanted to "experiment" with our eyes. "If so you will regret it dearly."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She shrugs indifferently, not worried at all. "Anyways, what did you need me for?"

"A notepad and writing utensil." Me and Silas both answer simultaneously.

"What for?" Her brows furrow curiously.

"To assist in our horse research." I answer, looking between her and Erwin.

"Research?" She repeats, looking at us strangely.

"Yes. We must write down their likes and dislikes, how often they eat and sleep, everything they display to us." I say.

"Why?" Erwin asks. Even he is looking at us strangely now.

"In order to determine their true nature." Silas explains. "Once we know these simple things, we can hold it over their heads to force them to obey us."

"Exactly. It's only the natural actions to take in order to gain full control over something or someone." I cross my arms over my chest. My finger is now wrapped in a band-aid. "We have seen through your evil schemes. How very funny of you to give us malfunctioning horses. But know this, we will tame the beasts either way."

After that, silence fills the room. Me and Silas wear serious expressions while Hanje and Erwin gaze at us with inexpressive ones. Abruptly, Hanje begins laughing loudly, slapping her knee dramatically. Erwin looks off to the side, sighing to himself. He lets out a random cough however. How very strange.

"What is funny?!" I blurt.

"'Tame the beasts!'" Hanje barely gets out between her laughter.

"You know," Erwin starts up. "It isn't a crime to ask for help."

"But we don't need help. Everything is under control." I frown.

"This is our game to win so don't interfere." Silas practically orders. Erwin smirks suddenly. It's the same smirk that irritates me so.

"Do you want to know what you should work on first?"

"Head Honcho!" I jab a finger at him. "Don't say—!"

"Learn to whistle."

"Curse you!" I bring my hands up and tangle them into my hair, making my messy bun even more so.

"Did you not hear what I said?!" Silas yells. "We don't need help! The strategy we forged is an impeccable one! I doubt even you would've came up with such an admirable game plan."

"Of course, I wouldn't have." Erwin agrees. Silas smirks smugly. However, that smirk disappears at his next words. "And that's because that 'game plan' of yours ineffective."

"I disagree." My eyes narrow indignantly. "In order to show we are the dominant ones to these beasts, we must show them they have nothing left to hide from us and that we know everything. This way they will feel so much unease they will be compelled to obey us."

"And whistling does not work." Silas affirms. "We have tried it."

"You both are trying to plant fear in your horses instead of trying to bond with them to establish trust." Erwin states. "I can also guarantee you both fail at whistling."

"Bond with them?" Silas mutters. His face twists in disgust. "You mean show affection to those creatures?"

"Exactly that."

"No. I will make no effort to win those beasts over. It should be the other way around. They need to get us to trust them." I scowl, jerking my head and looking off to the side. "And I'll have you know Silas and I succeed in whistling."

"Go ahead then."

"What?" I look back over at Erwin with furrowed brows.

"Do you mean carry on with our plan? Well we didn't plan to drop it anyway—" Silas starts only to get cut off.

"Whistle." Erwin stares at us both and it's only then Hanje stops with her laughing. "Show me you both can whistle."

My body tenses immediately. I glance at Silas. He's staring at Erwin with a grim expression. It's obvious my brother is growing annoyed and I can't help but to grow annoyed too. Erwin is completely making fun of our plan to tame the beasts and talking down on us once again.

"What's the point?" I shift on my feet lazily. "I already said we can. Also, I'd hardly call that important right now."

"So, I take it you can't whistle then since you aren't doing as I say." Erwin says, making my eyelid twitch. "It seems you both aren't as skilled as you thought."

"Fine!" My fists clench and I look over at Silas. "...You first."

"Very well." He replies. I watch silently as Silas brings his lips together and blows, producing a faint high-pitched sound. He smiles smugly and crosses his arms. "See?"

"Pathetic." Erwin instantly rebukes.

"Excuse me—?"

"Your turn." Erwin's bright blue orbs meet my amber ones.

There is a deep frown on my face as I glare at him as intensely as possible. He merely gazes at me dully. It's as if he knows I'm going to fail and I can almost swear he looks secretly pompous about it. My jaw locks when he suddenly looks amused.

"So, you can't?" He asks. "Is this a game over for you?"

"No." I snarl. Drawing in a breath to calm myself, I close my eyes. "I'll have you know I never lost a game before. This game didn't even start. I didn't even attempt to whistle yet."

"...Because you can't." Hanje whispers.

I force myself to ignore her just this once. It takes much effort to compel my tense body to relax. Swallowing, I bring my lips together and pucker them slightly. Then I blow. Only air comes out. There is no sound at all. I keep my eyes closed. Warmth begins to radiate from my cheeks. Hanje bursts out laughing.

"Pathetic." Erwin states monotonously.

"Who cares about whistling?! I'd hardly call that important!" I growl, slapping my hands onto his desk and scowling.

"If you can't whistle you both will die beyond the walls."

"Ha!" I laugh mockingly. "Die? Surely you jest." My eyes grow dark with anger and I learn closer to Erwin with every intention to intimidate him. I grin an eerie grin. "Tell me then, Head Honcho. Why is it okay for you to joke about our deaths but when we do it to you we get a spray bottle to the face?"

"I'm not joking." Erwin stands from his chair, towering over me. His shadow covers me. "If you two go beyond the walls as you are now, you will die."

"You lie." Silas narrows his eyes. "Death by the Titans is something that will not happen to us." He closes eyes. "Tsk. If you are so sure we will die, then why go through all the trouble to recruit us? You clearly took notice of how skilled we are. I bet we are even better than you."

"Agreed." I nod. "What do you do anyway other than sit around and plan things? Truth is, we don't need your help to go beyond the walls."

"We can kill the Titans by ourselves. Now then, me and Ren are going to tame these beasts outside." Silas looks over at Hanje with sharp eyes. "Forget the notepad. We'll acquire paper of some kind and a writing utensil ourselves. We'll teach those beasts to come running to us by making a sound other than a petty whistle."

"It's clear our lives mean nothing to you since you keep joking about our demise. Well the feeling is mutual." I smirk, waving my hand in the air in a dismissal gesture. "Adieu."

Me and Silas begin strolling towards the door with identical smirks on our faces. It's silent in the room and my smirk grows in size. _Not so big and bad now, are you Erwin?_ We both reach for the doorknob. Before our fingers even graze against it, something large and rough grips the back of our necks.

My eyes enlarge and my shoulders jolt upwards instinctively. Together, me and Silas growl and ready our fists. Before we can even send them flying, we both yelp when we're pushed downwards and forced to bend over. I bring my hands behind my neck, recognizing the feel of a hand. My eyes dart to the side to see it's Erwin holding us both forcefully by the nape.

"Just what do you—?!" I bite out.

"This is one way to show you're the dominant one to dogs." He cuts me off.

"You better take those words back now or else I'll kick you in the—" Silas growls. Erwin's grip grows tighter and we both yap. I bite down on my lower lip to try and ignore the feel of his fingers on my neck. _Curse myself for being ticklish._

"Hanje," Erwin looks over his shoulder. "Get the door."

"Yes sir!" She salutes.

"I'm sick of being called a dog. You want to know what animal you are, Head Honcho? You remind me of the worms withering in the underground…!" He pushes me down further, nearly making me fall onto all fours. "Stop it!"

"Release us this instant! Do you realize who you're dealing with?!" Silas roars when Hanje pushes the door open.

"Dogs." Erwin replies before dragging us down the hall.

❤•○●○•❤


	6. Chapter 6

❤•○●○•❤

"M-my neck! There is definitely a kink in my neck!" Silas yelps loudly.

"L-let go…! Pfft! Please, I c-can't—!" I laugh out completely against my will. I'm furious. No, _I'm more than that._ This is nothing but humiliating.

Being dragged by my neck like someone would scruff a dog, passing by so many soldiers who look in amusement and gossip aloud, walking with my body bent at nearly a ninety-degree angle, Erwin completely ignoring me and my brother's demands, the fact that I can't break free from his hold, everything is making me boil over.

However, the most infuriating thing is that I'm sure Erwin has discovered I am for a fact ticklish. I could only ignore his touch for so long. He's using it to his advantage. Every time I try to squirm or even speak, his fingers move in a certain stimulating way. I try desperately to suck up my laughter. My stomach is aching intensely from it and I'm sure pathetic tears will soon gather at the outer corner of my eyes.

"I-I take that 'please' back!" I growl, bringing my trembling hands up to grip his wrist. Not being able to pry his hand off of me, I grip as tightly as I can in hopes to inflict pain upon him. "You slimy little—! Ha!" His fingers glide across my skin and my whole body begins trembling as I succumb to my laughter. My hands drop to clutch my stomach. "S-slimy little wah—! Haha! W-worm!"

"Let us go already!" Silas yells furiously. "Urgh! If you really think of us as dogs, then surely it won't be a surprise to you when I bite—! Ow!"

"How old are you two?" Erwin asks suddenly. "I wasn't aware I took in two puppies."

"Oh?! That's some nerve—!" I begin only to be cut off by my own giggles.

"If we tell you, will you release us?" Silas rebukes.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?! Then there is no reason for us to tell you—!" I retort before my own helpless giggles cut me off once again. My stomach aches and clenches, and I bite down harshly on my tongue, making my laughs come to a stop. I growl indignantly, actually sounding like the canines everyone seems to refer to us as.

After Erwin had dragged us out the door, Hanje left us to go "work on something," leaving me and my brother with the irritating Head Honcho. Now, he's dragging us to who knows where. I glare harshly at the grass below, my eyelid twitching as I begin trembling further. I'm no longer trembling from my involuntary laughs, but rather from the fury building up inside of me. My eyes dart up to Erwin's grim face.

He's not even looking down at us, but merely staring ahead with his icy eyes. Part of me is content with that, I despise when people look down on me. In this situation, however, another part of me rages inwardly. I also despise people who don't even acknowledge me. For Erwin of all people to hold me and my brother in contempt, it infuriates me more than words can say. _How dare he?_

Does he place himself that high above us, even though he was so desperate to recruit us? What is he even trying to accomplish right now? If he's trying to make me hate his guts more than I already do, he's doing a wonderful job. My eyes glide down to his side, focusing on how the straps of his uniform form a perfect triangle. They fixate further, comparing it to a target. _A target waiting to be struck._ My fingers curl into a solid fist and I raise it upwards.

As if sensing my intense gaze and my impending fist, he suddenly tosses me forward. I yelp at his unexpected move and land roughly onto the ground below. I sit up onto my hands and knees, spitting grass out of my mouth. My teeth grit and I turn quickly, glaring up at Erwin's form towering over me.

"How dare you throw my sister like she's a ragdoll—! Oof!" Silas grunts when he's suddenly thrown forward and onto the ground next to me. He rolls a couple time before coming to a stop on his back.

"How dare you throw my brother like he's a ragdoll!" I leap onto my feet and stomp over to Erwin. Coming to a stop directly in front of him, I glare up his quite taller form. My amber eyes meet his bright blue ones. "And," My eyes shut briefly as I draw in a sharp breath. Then, I start shrilling. "How dare you tickle me?! You really _do_ have some nerve! And that nerve is about to get torn out of you, by me!"

"Oh?" He questions, stepping around me like I'm not even worth his time. His eyes don't even spare me a glance. My blood boils. "I was about to say something similar to you."

I remain still for a moment, staring ahead with an scrutinizing expression. _Say something similar to me, he says?_ My eyes suddenly widen and my teeth grit. I hastily turn around with blazing eyes.

"Erwin!" I gnarl. "I will fight you right here and now!"

His broad shoulders briefly quiver. I can guarantee only mine and Silas's eyes could detect that, since it was so quick and subtle. Erwin turns around, facing me with an impassive expression. Those already bright eyes of him somehow seem even more so. The sunlight streaming onto them makes the different tints of blue adorning them even more apparent to me than they already are. Not only that, I can see the faint amused glint in them.

"I fail to see what's so funny." I clench my fists.

"As do I." Silas frowns and stands up. He jabs a threatening finger at Erwin. "In case you didn't know, I don't take people treating my sister as you do with such disrespect very lightly. I plan to fight you as well. In fact, Ren, how about we both team up and knock him off of his high horse together?"

"Yes." I nod and narrow my eyes. "I like the sound of that. It's about time we've showed this… _commander,_ that we are in fact very much better than him."

"How about a game then?" Erwin asks, eyeing us both.

"...Eh?" Me and Silas drag out at the same time, glancing at each other with furrowed brows. We both direct our gaze to the ground, our fingers grazing our chins as we think his words over. My eyes follow a moving train of ants.

Erwin, the person who always tries to convince us that life isn't a game, wants to play a game? _How… strange._ My eyes move back to him as he awaits our answer. Silas crosses his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes into a glare.

"What's the catch?" He asks, practically voicing what I am wondering myself.

"What makes you think there is one?" Erwin asks.

"Oh, I don't know," I start before pulling my shoulders back and flexing my arm muscles. I make myself appear as stoic as possible. "'Life isn't a game, you two.'"

Erwin blinks at me, raising a brow at my deepened voice. Silas bursts out laughing, slapping my back repeatedly and leaning into me.

"Ha! Do that again!" He laughs out at my Erwin imitation.

"'Life isn't a—'"

"Stop it." Erwin cuts me off, sighing heavily.

"Why? Am I annoying you?" I ask, smirking and crossing my arms. "Good. Let my words wreak havoc upon you. Let my intimidation of you show you how much of a jerk you are—"

"Ms. Rose, the only thing you're succeeding in right now is making a fool out of yourself." He states evenly, making me scowl. "You and your brother are going to play this 'game' with me, right now, whether you like it or not. I did not drag you two puppies out here for no reason at all. Now, let's get started. You've wasted enough of my time already as it is."

"The nerve," I grumble lowly with a deep frown.

"Tsk. You've been wasting our time as well." Silas retorts, glaring. "We could be taming the beasts right now. But fine," His amber eyes move over to me and I nod.

"We've never turned down a game before." I start.

"Nor have we lost one." Silas brings his hand to his hip.

"So, if you want to lose that badly,"

"Then bring it on." We both finish, gazing intensely at Erwin. The challenging atmosphere surrounding the three of us is intense, making sparks pass between our eyes. Erwin smirks and turns so his back is to us, facing the giant trees just ahead.

"Wait," I murmur to myself, tilting my head as my face takes on a lazy expression.

"Isn't this where we did the 'Titan' training?" Silas finishes for me.

"It is." Erwin answers, drawing his blades that I only just now notice he has. It seems I was so absorbed in my anger and humiliation, I failed to notice he himself is also equipped with the 3DMG along with me and Silas. "The three of us will have a race. Whoever successfully cuts through the nape of the most faux Titans and crosses the finish line first will be declared the winner."

Gradually, I find myself grinning. My eyes shut as I laugh silently to myself. This game of his sounds very fun. Not only does it sound fun, but it also sounds incredibly easy. Me and Silas have played this game once before. We easily took over Obi's spot on the leader-board. Also, Erwin was there to witness the whole thing as he trailed _behind_ us.

"Very well." I say, opening my eyes and taking steps forward. I draw my own blades, coming to a stop beside Erwin and staring into the dense forest of enormous trees ahead. "I applaud your willingness to lose."

"Don't cry when we beat you." Silas smirks, stepping forward as well with his blades drawn. He comes to a stop beside me. "But wait, there should be a prize for the winner, right?"

"Oh, yes." I smile and look up and over at Erwin. "So, Head Honcho, what shall the winner receive?"

"If I win," Erwin begins, his blue orbs staring ahead into the woodland. I watch as he waves at a soldier from within it, most likely to signal them and whoever is in charge of controlling the counterfeit Titans to get ready. "You both will do whatever I say, carry out any orders I give you, with no qualms about it. In case you weren't aware, you both should've been doing that from the start. You both should consider yourselves fortunate that I don't resort to extreme violence like Levi."

"Ha," I laugh and shift my weight. "That little," I pause and look around, doing an entire three-sixty to search for the short man. Silas looks around too and we link our vision, scanning the whole perimeter with our advanced eyes.

"Cost is clear," Silas whispers over to me.

"That little pipsqueak's punches feel like nothing but mosquito bites." I finish, holding my hand and blade out to the side for emphasis.

"Even less than that, actually." Silas nods.

"Oh, Levi," Erwin suddenly says in surprise, looking ahead.

The blood drains from mine and Silas's face. _No way! He's here?_ My body moves on its own. Intuitively, I duck behind Erwin with speed I didn't even know I had. Silas follows suit. The organ in my chest is pounding swiftly in unease. We both tentatively peak out from either side of Erwin's larger form, seeing that Levi, _is most definitely not here._ Erwin smirks to himself, amused.

"Don't do that!" I yap.

"You cannot joke about such things!" Silas glares.

"I wasn't aware you both were that frightened of him." Erwin's eyes move to us.

"Frightened?" I start. "What makes you think—?"

"You're trembling." He states as a matter of fact. "It's very pathetic."

"W-well!" Silas stutters slightly. "Have you ever been punched by that man? If you have, then you must understand—!"

"I have." Erwin confirms, making us blanch. "You both should get rid of your 'tough guy' acts. Clearly, you two aren't as omnipotent as you think you are."

"Erwin," I start lowly and in a dangerous tone. His eyes meet mine. "I'm going to shove those words right back down your throat. You have not the slightest clue about us. So, quit acting like you have us all figured out. You have absolutely no clue at all."

"You are not above us." Silas adds on, glaring ahead into the forest. "We'll show you right here and now who exactly you're dealing with. Come on, let's get this game started. You've stalled long enough."

"On three, then." Erwin says, directing his eyes ahead. I nod in determination, my vision doubling as me and Silas already link our eyes.

 _Three._

My fingers curl around the hilt of my blades tighter than what's necessary. The knuckles on my hands gradually turn white. Anger courses through me. I've had it with Erwin. He thinks he has me and Silas all figured out, but he doesn't. I'll show him _he's_ not as omnipotent as _he_ thinks. I'll make him eat his own words. He thinks he knows everything. He's made me feel inferior for the _last_ time. Something in me snaps.

 _Two._

I hate the way he towers over me. I hate the way he gazes at me like I'm nothing but a mere ant compared to him. I'm worth so much more than what's he's making me out to be, Silas too. Me and Silas, we aren't below anybody. He's trying so desperately to change us. _He won't._ I refuse to let him bend me to his will. I've already said I would use everything in me to wipe out the Titans, but I'm not doing it for him. It seems he hasn't realized that yet.

 _One._

I draw in a breath, bending my knees slightly. My eyes land on a sturdy looking branch I plan to launch my grappling hooks into. This game isn't one to be taken lightly. He won't beat us. _Nobody can._ I glance at Silas at the same time he glances at me. His coppery eyes are severe, mirroring my own. We've never lost before and we won't start now. So, right now, we're going to use everything we have. We'll win, and our prize will be the satisfaction of knocking Erwin down. My lips curve upwards and into a smirk.

 _Start._

The hissing of wires fills the air when the three of us shoot our grappling hooks ahead. Gas releases from our tanks and takes us airborne as we glide through the air, the metal wires reeling us forward. My eyes already land on a counterfeit Titan ahead and I ready my blades. Silas mimics me, our movements identical. Erwin is right beside us, seeming to keep us with us with ease. An annoyed crease forms in my brow.

"Si," I call over to my brother and he nods.

"Let's go." He says and we both pick up our speed, leaving Erwin in the dust.

Greenery whirls past us in a blur, and the scent of the colossal pines trees fills my nose. I let out a breath through my mouth, watching as the faulty Titan moves outwards from behind it's hiding place. I raise both of my blades in front of me. _This is…_ I swing higher into the air to gain more momentum for my downfall attack. _Too easy._

Me and Silas spin through the air, maneuvering our body's like spinning saw blades. At the exact same moment, we cross each other's path and cut through the nape of the wooden Titan. Our perfectly mirrored movements leaving behind the perfect "x" shaped slice. The soldier controlling the fake Titan below us gasps, his eyes sparkling. Me and Silas smirk, knowing he's amazed by our skills.

"W-wow!" He begins, staring past us. "Erwin's amazing!"

 _What?_

I follow the soldier's eyes, seeing him staring at Erwin ahead of us. He's already slicing through the next counterfeit Titan ahead. My eyes widen at his movements. _How did he…?_ There's no way. I look over my shoulder, seeing another slice in the wooden Titan's nape me and Silas just sliced through. When did he do that? That wasn't there when me and Silas cut into it. I stare back ahead, the sound of my pulse filling my ears.

"He's…!" Silas begins, his own eyes wide.

"Incredibly fast!" I finish in awe.

The awe I'm feeling is suddenly replaced by enmity. _No_. This is not acceptable at all. My teeth grit and me and Silas zip forward, cutting through the nape of the next wooden Titan. We both purposely cut over the spot Erwin has left behind. Erwin is still ahead of us and slicing through his next target. He's a whole Titan in front of us.

"This makes no sense! How is he moving so fast?!" I call over to Silas, seeing him glaring after Erwin.

"I don't know! Is he using more gas than we are?" He asks.

"I-I can't tell." I bite out, my grip growing even more tight on my blades. "Maybe?" Realization dawns on me. "W-wait, Si. We don't need to be conservative up here. We can use everything we have with no worries! We can catch him!"

"You're right. This isn't accurate at all! I refuse to lose to this arrogant fool!"

The two of us begin using more gas, making us move faster than before. As we slice through the next Titan, I notice Erwin is drawing closer. _But not by much._ Even though we are moving faster, I'm questioning whether or not we can pass him. Suddenly, my eyes enlarge when Erwin's blue eyes meet my amber ones. He smirks from over his shoulder. A popping vein forms on my temple.

"Ren, grab my hand!" Silas gnarls over to me and I promptly comply. We both withdraw our hooks and begin spinning in a yin-yang formation like we did once before in the underground against him. Silas grunts as he launches me forward like a bullet with all of his strength.

I shoot one of my hooks forward and onto a thick branch, reeling myself in and releasing more gas from my tanks to make myself travel more swiftly. I shoot my other hook backwards and Silas grabs onto it, so I can reel him in in the process. I zoom past Erwin, slicing through the next wooden Titan's nape before he can. This time it's my turn to smirk. His blue eyes grow large and he smiles that same smile that makes me shiver in not a good way.

My feet land on a branch and I run across it, waiting for my grappling hook to reel Silas the rest of the way in. _As if I would leave my brother behind._ Once he lands on the branch next to me, we jump and continue flying forward with pompous smirks.

"Your wings really are the real deal." Erwin speaks suddenly. He sounds close. Me and Silas both turn our heads, gaping when we see he's flying right between us. _How?!_ "I've never seen anyone use the 3DMG like you both do. You use it in a way that it wasn't made for and surpass its limit without any after effects. You both move in perfect sync, a perfect mirror image. Yet, there are some things you two lack. Want me to tell you one of them?"

"What?!" We both growl angrily.

"Experience."

Suddenly, smoke from Erwin's gas tank blasts into our faces, making us cough and stagger. He's ahead of us once again. My vision along with Silas's practically turns red. _That was dirty._ Fine then, _Erwin Smith._ I can play dirty too.

I shoot my hooks forward, making them clang against Erwin's in hopes to throw him off balance. He staggers slightly, but ultimately, he's unfazed by my move and still flying with fluid grace. My eyelid twitches and my teeth bare. I move downwards to slice through a cushioned nape. _This isn't right._ This can't be happening. He's not better than me. He's not better than _us._ There's no way.

I shake my head lightly, sucking in a breath. Forget about trying to throw him off, I just need to pass him. _But…_ As I cut through another wooden Titan, I look up to see Erwin still ahead of us. He's not that far ahead. The distance between us isn't much at all, but what makes things difficult is that we are traveling at the same speed. My eyes move past him, zooming in and seeing the borderline where the forest ends. In other words, I see the finish line.

If I have Silas launch me forward again, I can pass him. However, cutting through all of the Titan's ahead without losing speed will prove to be difficult, since they are scattered about in an unorganized fashion. If me and Silas both work together however, such as me taking out the ones on the left while he gets the ones on the right, we can win.

As long as one of us crosses the finish line before Erwin, we'll win. I'll come out in first while Silas will get the most cuts. We'll secure victory together. That's what I'm thinking at first, but Erwin hasn't missed a single Titan and doesn't look like he will at all. I curse inwardly. The winner has to be the one who cuts through the most Titans _and_ crosses the finish line first. There is no other way.

Somehow, I'll have to cut through all the cushioned napes ahead of me without losing speed from Silas's throw. There are six Titans left. _Zig-zagging back and forth while moving high and low all while maintaining top speed… this will be a challenge._ Silas seems to be thinking the same thing. He already has a hold of my hand.

"Can you do it?" He asks.

"Yes," I instantly reply, even though honestly, it seems almost impossible for even me to pull off. But, there is nothing else we can do. _Erwin is beating us._ I have to do this. I will not get my first loss here, especially against Erwin of all people.

"Ren," Silas begins with furrowed brows, hesitating. He knows it's practically impossible too. My eyes briefly squeeze shut.

"W-we're losing. This is the only thing we can do to have a chance at winning." My eyes lock onto his. "We have to win! We'll make the impossible, possible!"

"Then," Silas looks ahead, his grip growing tighter on my hand. "Secure victory for us, Ren!"

He hurls me forward. The wind blasting against my face makes moisture build up in my eyes. I squint, locking on to my targets and mentally labeling which branches to use that'll get me to the finish line fastest. I twirl, lowering myself and using gravity to hasten my acceleration. My blades cut through a cushioned nape. _That's one._

I flip through the air, passing by Erwin and taking the lead. A strong-willed grunt escapes my mouth as I slice through another nape. _Two._ I use my grappling hooks and wires as a playground swing, releasing more gas from my tanks to go even faster and gain height. My blades cut through another counterfeit Titan. _Three._ Only three more. Gravity brings me down and I ready my blades, slicing through another one. Before I know it, there is only one left.

The last Titan is larger than the rest. My pulse is racing in my ears. I've lost a lot of speed from straying from flying in a straight line, and I can hear Erwin close behind me. He's gaining. My hair has fallen loose and is whipping behind me in the wind. I swallow and shoot my hooks ahead and onto a branch high above. Just as I begin to wheel myself in, I feel my gas tanks stutter and the color drains from my face.

"I-I'm out of gas?" I whisper intensely to myself, staring down at my gas tanks that are only letting out tiny puffs of smoke. A snap reaches my ears and I look up. The branch I hooked onto has gave way. Now, I'm just falling downwards.

I withdraw the hook to latch it onto something else, but pale when the hook traveling back towards me with intense speed is also dragging the branch with it. Instinctively, my eyes squeeze shut, and I flinch, awaiting the painful impact.

A muscled arm wraps around my waist and holds me to a firm body. Easily I can hear the sound of something slicing through my wire to prevent the large branch from smacking into my face. I open my eyes in shock, seeing Erwin holding onto me as he cuts through the last cushioned nape.

He lands on the ground smoothly. We are now on the other side of the forest. _Now across the finish line._ Erwin's still holding onto me and I can only numbly stare ahead with wide and trembling eyes. It feels as if someone has punched me in the gut. It's a feeling worse than Levi's kick to my nose. I'm oblivious to all the soldiers present that are staring at me and Erwin.

Erwin's arm unwinds from my waist and I fall onto my knees. I stare intensely at the ground while sweat rolls down my temple. _I…_ My fingers tremble and curl into the grass, pulling the plant out by its roots. _Lost?_ This isn't real, right?

"I win, Ms. Rose." Erwin states from above me, his icy eyes peering down at me. Slowly, my eyes move up his body and land on his deliberate face. "As I said before, there are a lot of things and people that you can't even come close to. I believe this is game over." He crouches down in front of me and my facial features tremble. "You should also know that during that whole race, I was holding back."

I direct my eyes to the ground below, my teeth gritting. His boots are in my line of sight and my head ducks. My hair falls over my face in disheveled waves, shielding it from his sight. I hear a buzzing by my ear and look to the side, seeing a flying yellow bug decorated with black stripes gliding off to the side. It feels as if it's mocking me. My blood feels as if it's scorching me, yet strangely, I also feel so numb. _So very numb._

"Damn it!" I yell loudly, using one of the many curse words I despise for the first time in a long time, and throwing my blade off to the side. It spins through the air, slicing the flying bug in half cleanly and embedding itself into the trunk of a tree. Nearby soldiers creep away as the two halves of the bug drift to the ground, looking at me fearfully or like I'm a psycho. Erwin's hand finds my shoulder and I tense immediately.

"Let my words… wreak havoc upon you." He says, completely using my earlier words against me. My breath gets caught in my throat. I look up at him sharply, my lips parting to retort but no words escape from my mouth. I can only glare at him in silence. A thump makes me look behind Erwin. Silas has landed behind him.

His dismal amber eyes are directed at the ground as he looks completely dissatisfied. The organ in my chest tugs and I instantly begin to blame myself for our loss. Then, Erwin's words replay in my head. Did he really hold back like he said he did? If he did, then it isn't entirely my fault. However, that doesn't make me feel better in the slightest. Because if that is true, that also means Erwin really is and without a doubt, _better than us._

Erwin stands and holds his hand out to me. I angrily smack his hand aside and stand on my own. As if I would take his hand. He seems amused at that. That makes me even more angry.

"What a sore loser you are," He states, making me growl crisply. Silas walks over with a deathly calm expression, taking his spot beside me. "Now then, there will be no more of this 'Head Honcho' title coming from your lips. You both are to address me as Commander and nothing else. No more of these silly games of yours and treating your comrades with disrespect. Understand? From now on you're going to do things my way."

My fingers curl into fists and I glare as intensely as possible at his feet, somehow hoping my fiery gaze will set him up in flames. Neither me or Silas reply and Erwin steps towards us. His hands find the top of both me and my brother's head as he walks past us. I compare his touch to someone patting the head of an obedient dog. Red floods into my vision once again and my nostrils flare.

"Good. Let's go, then." Erwin says, beginning to walk back towards Headquarters. I feel inferior once more. Taking notice that we aren't following him, he pauses and turns around. His eyes grow sharp. "Now."

"I've… had it." I whisper out perilously. Silas nods in agreement, his sharp facial features reading nothing but livid. Our eyes move and land on a tree smaller than the ones behind us. It's more round in shape. A hive is hanging from it. Yellow and black bugs are flying around it, the same kind of bug I killed earlier. I think they are called "bees." I also think they are capable of chasing things. My eyes zero in on it. Their stingers look sharp.

"Serenity," Erwin says my name harshly, seeing where I'm looking. "No."

"Why not?" I mutter in question, still staring at the hive.

"Those kinds of bugs are not to be messed with." He states, and my lips twitch upwards. He's under the impression I don't know what they are. However, I seen similar bugs in the underground, only they built their nests out of mud.

"Fine…" I mutter out, walking after him with my head down. Silas follows after me and it's only then Erwin starts walking again. My lips curl upwards further.

"Silas," I whisper over to my brother and he nods with a smirk. He chuckles lowly and detaches one of his blades. "Let's knock it down."

"Let's."

"You better run, Erwin!" I call out, laughing madly. Erwin turns around with widened eyes, gazing at us in disbelief. "This is for pissing me off!"

"Run fast if you want to survive!" Silas yells and throws his sharp blade with perfect aim at the beehive. It falls.

Me and Silas stand there with grins as the beehive hits the ground and shatters. It's closest to Erwin, so it's only natural they will go after him. Our grins grow wider as the bugs start swarming. They start flying away from their hive and towards Erwin… _Hold on._ I take a step back. _No._ They are flying towards us.

"Crap." I squeak out.

"These things are smarter than we—!" Silas begins nervously as the bugs grow closer.

"Thought!" I finish, turning and running as fast as I can along with Silas. Nearby soldiers also scatter with screams lying upon their tongues. My eyes lock onto Erwin's blue ones and I realize my feet are carrying me in his direction. "E-Erwin! Help!"

"Don't—!" Erwin begins only for his words to stop as he curses faintly. He has no choice but to turn and run as well as we near him.

For once, it seems he has lost his stoic composure. He actually looks highly annoyed. I can almost swear he's muttering something along the lines of how stupid we are. Mine and Silas's arms are outstretched towards him as we run for our lives. Even on the ground, Erwin is still faster than us. I begin to pale as the intense buzzing of the bugs grows closer, and as Erwin gets further ahead.

A loud and high-pitched noise makes me and Silas cringe. We bring our hands over our ears. It came from Erwin. _Did he scream at the top of his lungs?_ I would laugh if I wasn't feeling so uneasy. The pounding of hooves then reaches my ears, and I see a familiar light gray stallion sprinting towards us. That's Erwin's horse. You mean that sound just now was a whistle? How can that be?

My mouth drops open along with Silas's own as Erwin swiftly climbs atop his horse. We watch with wide eyes as the much, _much_ , faster horse carries Erwin to safety with ease. I'm floored at how fast that creature is. _But…!_

"E-Erwin!" I call out desperately. "W-wait!"

"Help us!" Silas cries out.

He looks over his shoulder at us. He slows his horse down so it's running beside us. His eyes move and watch as the swarm of bees grows closer. Gradually, his lips curve upwards and into a smirk.

"You both better run faster if you want to survive." He says, this time using Silas's words against us. I can't even bring myself to be angry with how panicked I am. Already, my full speed sprint is beginning to slow down as I lose breath.

"If you help us, we'll do whatever you say!" I declare. Erwin chuckles to himself and looks ahead.

"You both were supposed to be doing that already. How do I know you're not lying?"

"We're serious right now!" Silas shouts.

"I don't believe you. I don't see any reason the help you. You got yourselves into this situation, so you can get yourselves out." Erwin dismisses and urges his horse to go faster. I actually begin quivering in fear. He's seriously going to leave us behind?

"I-If you leave us," I begin with widened eyes. "We'll get stung to death! And you will lose valuable assets to your cause!"

"E-Exactly!" Silas nods, sweat dripping down his face. "You would have come to the underground for nothing!"

Erwin doesn't respond and merely gets further ahead. My heart drops to my stomach and I squeeze my eyes shut. He really doesn't care if me and my brother possibly die? He's serious about leaving us behind? I suppose we were being very rude to him.

We even went against his words even after we lost to him. I guess he really does have nothing to lose at all, especially if we won't listen to him. _Can I really blame him, then?_ Why do I feel so regretful? Is this situation karma? My own thoughts anger me like nothing else and so do my next words. I'm desperate.

"Commander Erwin Smith!" I call out to him, and he finally turns around to look at me. "I'll do everything and anything you say! I swear to you, I'm yours to use however you see fit! As long as it's within my power, even if the odds are against me, I won't hesitate to do what you desire! Your dreams are my own!"

"I like that," Erwin slows his horse down so he's riding beside me. "But I'm still not entirely satisfied."

"I-I," I start, my next words equivalent to shoving a knife right through me. "I admit that you are better than me!"

"Serenity." He says my name calmly and my eyes meet his. "Take that mask off of yours."

"W-what?" I ask breathlessly, openly confused.

"That overly formal tone." He clarifies, and I nearly whine out loud. _He's caught on to that?_ "Swear to me with your voice, that you are willing to give your heart for humanity."

Time stops momentarily as I gaze into Erwin's endless blue orbs. They shine brighter than the sky above in their serious state. _Give my heart for humanity?_ My hand moves over my chest and I look down with panicked eyes.

"I… I can't," I breathe out. My life in the underground flashes before my eyes. I don't want to die for _those_ people. I don't want to die at all. "I-I can't! Not for them! But maybe… Erwin, for you, just maybe I…!"

I unexpectedly trip and a silent gasp escapes from my mouth. Erwin's hand suddenly grabs a hold of my own and he pulls me up and onto his horse. I'm seated in front of him and between his legs. My cheeks warm greatly.

"Good enough." He says. I scarcely feel his breath against my ear and I freeze up.

"Hold on!" Silas calls out, panicked. "Everything Ren said applies to me too—!"

"I figured that as well," Erwin says, reaching down and grabbing a hold of Silas. Only, he grabs Silas by the back of his cloak and lifts him up with ease, setting him in the very back. Silas gags briefly.

Erwin whips the reins of his horse, making it accelerate much faster. I fall backwards into his chest with a yelp. My hands reach forward impulsively to somehow steady myself, and they find themselves over Erwin's own on the reins. I quickly withdraw them, and my face grows impossibly warmer.

I'm practically trapped by him with his arms on either side of me, his hands in front of me, and his body behind me. Also, with three people atop the same horse, the space available is already approximately none. I would look behind me to see how Silas is fairing, but I don't want to accidentally meet Erwin's eyes. I could tap into his vision, but my thoughts are so turbulent that I'm essentially blinded by them.

Even though me and my brother worked together and so hard, we still lost. Erwin is stronger than us even when we are together and when our strength is doubled, which also means he is much stronger than us individually. The gap between us is so immense. This is an indisputable loss. _Our first ever loss._

Our attempt at revenge by knocking down the beehive quickly backfired. I say revenge, but we were also lost in our anger and in complete denial. We ended up putting ourselves in danger instead of Erwin. Even though we knocked that hive down with every intent to harm Erwin somehow, he still helped us.

He helped us even though we went against his words, even though he won, and his prize was for us to follow his every order, even though we've been being difficult since we got here, he still helped, _no_ , he still _saved_ us. I feel so guilt ridden. Additionally, in the process of him saving us, I swore myself to him. If it wasn't for my earlier misstep, I would've told him I would consider giving my heart for him too. I can only pray he didn't pick up on what I was going to say. I now feel nauseated. Did I blackmail myself? Is that even possible? Or maybe I'm just overthinking things. But still, overthinking doesn't change the obvious facts. My eyes suddenly enlarge.

But, what if Erwin wasn't going to leave us behind at all? His horse wasn't moving as fast as it is now. Come to think of it, he was staying close by. Slowly, I turn my head and look behind me, seeing Silas gripping the back of the saddle to stay on instead of holding onto Erwin.

His eyes are shut and there is a disgruntled crease in his brow, and his head is angled towards the sky. Is he thinking the same thing? I stare at him for a short moment while my lips press together. I begin to turn back around, but not before peaking up at Erwin. I instantly regret it when his eyes move downwards to meet mine. Upon eye contact, I instantly know that he got us.

 _He got us good._

I turn back around fully, staring ahead at nothing in particular. This feeling that's coiled around me tightly is so foreign. This is the feeling of defeat. I've been overpowered so easily, tricked, everything I said and done has been used against me. Earlier when Erwin claimed I was making a fool out of myself, I didn't believe it. Right now, however, I feel like nothing but a fool.

Erwin's horse comes to a smooth stop in front of Headquarters. The silence in the air is heavy, nearly suffocating I would say. My shoulders rise as I breathe deeply and quietly, and my now fatigued eyes shut. They aren't shut for long.

A thump makes me turn my head to see Silas laying on his side in the grass. It seems he has let himself fall off the horse. Failure is hovering around him and my stomach twists wretchedly. I can't help but to feel like I'm the main reason at his current distress.

Erwin moves behind me. I gaze at him out of the corner of my eye as he gets off of his horse. His face is aloof, calm and collected as usual. Those eyes of his however appear so very accomplished.

"You were going to help us anyway, weren't you?" I ask, my voice stiff. He straightens his light brown jacket.

"I thought about it." He responds.

"Y-you tricked us!" I start up angrily, turning to him. "Everything I said back there, disregard it!"

"It doesn't work like that, Ms. Rose." Erwin looks over at me. "I won our game fair and square. The winning prize is mine. That's how games work, correct?" His lips twitch upwards and into a smirk. "You swore to me. You're mine to use however I see fit." His smirk fades. "If you go back on your word, you will regret it. Are you sure you want to do that?"

His bright blue eyes grow as cold as ice. An unpleasant shiver shoots down my spine at the threat. _If I were to disobey, what would he do exactly?_ The tension in the air skyrockets. His gaze is hard an unfaltering and I slowly find myself cowering back involuntarily. Right now, he feels more menacing than Levi. I quickly break eye contact and curl my fingers into a fist to get them to stop trembling. I resemble a frightened puppy, that's a fact I can't deny. I want to get as far away from him as possible.

"Your orders then, Commander?" I ask, a slight quiver in my voice.

"Wake your brother up and spend the remainder of the day learning to whistle. Do it over there where I can keep an eye on you." He says, gesturing to the wooden pens mine and Silas's horses are still in. "I'll come tell you both directly when it's time for you to begin your night run."

"Understood." I mutter, sliding off of his horse that is quite tall.

"Also," Erwin adds on, taking the reins of his horse and putting them in my hands. "Take him back to the stables for me."

Before I can even respond, he walks off. I stare dejectedly down at my feet. I glance at Silas who is seemingly passed out before looking at Erwin's horse. I then look back at Erwin's retreating from. My hold tightens on the reins. The amount of hatred I have for him is the most hatred I've ever harbored against anyone before.

❤•○●○•❤

I stand under the dusking sky. In the far horizon the flaming oranges and reds are the only colors left behind from the setting sun. The moon has made itself known in the sky, bringing along a black curtain decorated with vivid stars that are forcing the daytime colors to fade away. Nighttime bugs begin to sing and chirp, and the air now holds a chill in it along with the faint breeze.

I look over at Silas leaning against the wooden pen beside me. He's staring up at the sky with his amber orbs. His lips are puckered as he whistles faintly. We've been out here and practicing our whistling for hours. We even skipped dinner. Neither of us had an appetite and we didn't want to risk running into Erwin. I look away from him with a frown.

"...I'm sorry." I say, making him look over at me.

"It's not your fault." He mutters. "We're both at fault."

"But," I begin falteringly. "Maybe if I paid more attention to the amount of gas I had left, I could've beaten him."

"If he was really holding back like he said, we couldn't have won either way." He looks down at the ground too. "...We lost, and that is unacceptable."

"Yeah," I whisper, my heart growing heavy.

I let my body sink back further against the wooden pen. Silence hovers between us. My arms cross over my chest and I stare up at the sky once again. My eyelids lower halfway. The sound of my horse behind me crunching on grass reaches my ears.

Today, we suffered from our first loss. We lost, even though she told us repeatedly not to. _Mom._ Would she be disappointed in us right now? I really do hate how some of my memories of her are starting to grow fuzzy. I would give anything to talk to her right now. I wonder what she would tell me and Silas at this moment, I also wonder what she would do if she were in our shoes.

My vision zooms in on the stars. I think once I've read or at least heard that stars represent lost loved ones. If that's the case, mom is looking down on me right now, right? I stare long and hard, almost desperately for some sort of sign. I don't receive anything. I resist the urge to scoff at myself. I suppose stars being people who passed from this world is a stupid concept.

I pucker my lips and begin to practice my whistling once again. I'm able to produce some sound now. It's not that loud at all, but it definitely is an improvement from earlier today. _Improvement._ Something catches my eye and my breath hitches. The whistles I'm producing stop and my lips part.

A bright streak shoots across the sky. It happens so quick and is gone quicker than I can even blink. The sky suddenly seems brighter somehow. I can see distorted shapes and colorful dust-like clouds floating above. One of the shapes I see resembles a large bird, but it is also very similar to an arrow. The breeze caresses me.

"You're there?" I whisper outwards, feeling myself beginning to smile.

"You see that too?" Silas whispers breathlessly and I look over at him. His amber eyes are sparkling just like the stars above, his lips parted ever so slightly with an upwards curvature.

"Yes." I nod and look back at the starry sky. "...Do you think, mom is up there?"

"I was about to ask you that." He chuckles, and I smile, leaning into his side.

"What do you think she would say to us right now, after everything that's happened today?"

"Rise above." He answers. "And,"

"Be the best you can be." I finish and slowly shut my eyes. That's something she said frequently.

"Didn't she always tell us to 'kick everyone's ass?'" He questions, and I snort in laughter, remembering her saying something along those lines.

"Something like that, I'm sure. She had such a potty mouth, but always told us to never say the words she did. I miss her."

"Me too." Silas sighs lightly and I peek up at him through my eyelashes. "Ren, let's make today's loss the only loss we'll ever experience." His eyes meet mine. "We were at the top in the underground, so let's do the same thing up here. We're going to rise above everyone."

"Right." I nod and straighten up, looking at the sky again when he does. "There was always a barrier over our heads down there. Our wings couldn't stretch to their full length, but up here,"

"There is no limit to what we can do." Silas steals the words from my mouth. I turn and look at him once again.

There is a tranquil smile on his face. The cool breeze ruffles up his hair and his eyes are soft. I lower my eyelids briefly before gazing upwards. The organ in my chest warms. Just like that, my intense anger from earlier dies down. Of course, everything that happened still irks me, but right now, I feel more resolved. I have Silas to thank for that. I have him to thank for a lot of things.

"Silas, I love you." I say, now feeling his eyes on me. "I'm sorry if I don't tell you that enough."

Silas throws his arm over my shoulders and pulls me into his side. I laugh when he uses his fist to ruffle up my hair by bringing it to the top of my head.

"I love you, too." He grins.

"Oi, brats!" A familiar voice makes us look up to see Levi glaring down at us from an open window. "Erwin says to get running!"

Me and Silas both wear deep frowns at the mention of Erwin. I believe that window is to Erwin's office. I wonder why Levi's the one delivering Erwin's orders, but, I don't question it for long. I actually rather see Levi than Erwin. Just as soon as I think that, Erwin shows himself. His icy eyes gaze down at me and my brother.

My body numbs as a result. Anger courses through me but cold sweat breaks out on my temple. Earlier events replay in my head. Silas instantly grabs onto my hand and walks off with me in tow. I look at his livid face. His eyes are like fire as he glares at Erwin.

"To the top, Ren." He says lowly.

"Right." I whisper in acknowledgment with a sharp nod, beginning to run with my brother underneath the stars.


	7. Chapter 7

•○●○•

Me and Silas step into the mess hall with bloodshot eyes. Our feet drag across the decrepit brick floor, creating an unpleasant coarse sound. Soldiers are already sitting and eating their breakfast in delight. Rays of sunlight streaming through an open window take aim at my half-lidded eyes, making me hiss and rub at them.

Our last night run was anything but easy. The two of us tired out quicker than what we would have liked. If I'm being honest, we didn't want to tire out at all. Even though we did grow heavy with fatigue, we kept at it and pushed ourselves to keep dragging along, _only to end up crawling towards the end_.

My lips press together and I groan, lowering my hands from my sleepy face. _Running nonstop all night,_ that has to be impossible. I don't see how anyone can do such a thing. If there really are people out there that can do just that though, I don't see why me and Silas can't. I shake my head, tired of thinking. Either way, we failed again. What's even the point of such failure?

I'm sick of everything. I haven't slept for real in days now. Food sounded good to me on our way here, but now I don't feel hungry at all. Everything is eating away at me. I'm so sore it hurts just to move. I stumble into Silas and he groans.

"...So sorry," I mumble, and he waves his hand through the air drowsily.

"It's okay. Water?" He questions, dragging his feet in the direction the drinks are in. I trail after him.

"Yeah. Sounds nice."

"I hate everything."

"Mhm," I rub at my eyes again when we come to a stop in front of the table bearing water. "Then… tame Fleabag and Pansy."

"Yes, they will..." He yawns. "Perish."

We both reach out and take a wooden cup into our hands, filling it with water from the faucet. Our limbs are shaking much like an old person's would. Turning around, we both begin walking towards the door in which we came, for the purpose of heading back outside before anyone notices us in our pitiful states. A body bumps into me, making my cup fall from my hands. I stare at the spilled water.

"What is with you and bumping into me?" A familiar voice frets. I turn my head, seeing Obi glaring at me. "Do you like me or something?"

"...Not at all." I answer, rubbing at my forehead with the heel of my hand. My head is pounding with a headache. "You are the one who bumped into me, however."

"No, I wasn't." Obi turns to me fully with his arms crossed. His green eyes glare down at me. Shortly afterwards, his brows furrow and he looks amused. "Man, you look rough."

"Tsk," Silas steps forward and jabs a finger at Obi, glaring with his drooping eyes. "You're about to be the one looking _more_ than rough if you keep talking to my sister like that."

"Yeah, yeah," Obi sighs. "Everyone knows already that you two are just all talk."

"Excuse me?" Me and Silas both grumble.

The wooden cup of water Silas holds falls from his hand, so he can form fists with both of his hands. A girl steps out from behind Obi. She has short cherry brown hair that is cut stylishly. Her golden eyes glare at Obi and she bops him on the back of the head. Obi yelps and clutches at his head. The girl smiles at me and Silas.

"Just ignore him. He's such a prick sometimes." Her hands moves over her mouth as she snickers, looking off to the side almost evilly as she does. "He also has a crush on you."

"What?! No, I don't!" Obi glares at her and she laughs, holding her hands out to the side as her smile grows.

"Really? So, you didn't say, 'That new girl is so hot man. I'd tap that in a—'"

"I never said anything like that!" Obi retorts, cutting her off.

"You did." A large and tan man walks past us with a tray, his brow eyes sparing a glance at Obi. His graying brown hair is kept in a buzz cut.

"Keiji!" Obi growls after the man.

"My sister is off limits." Silas instantly speaks up, his voice low and aggressive.

"Yes." I nod and look off to the side, my cheeks warm despite my scowl. "I question your taste in woman."

"Don't insult yourself," The girl laughs in amusement at my words. "You are really pretty, you know. My name is Nifa." She steps forward and takes my hand into hers. "Nice to meet you. Serenity, right? I'm on Squad Hanje too. I'm so happy to have another girl around!"

I stare at her with wide and stunned eyes. She's practically sparkling, and some sort of upbeat aura flows off of her. Her words replay in my head and I look to the ground in embarrassment. _Embarrassment._ Nobody other than Silas and my own mother has ever informed me that I am "pretty." This definitely is something new. I meet her golden orbs with my amber ones.

"Thank you." I reply. "But, I was serious. I question his taste in woman. I do not view myself as pretty in the slightest. In truth, I am a cold-blooded person. Heartless, actually. Do you know what me and my brother were referred to as in the underground?"

"No. What?" Nifa tilts her head in question.

"The Heartless Duo." Me and Silas answer at the same time, grinning improperly.

"Yes…" I murmur, my tired eye twitching. "Heartless…" My head throbs again and I clutch at it, squeezing my eyes shut. "Yeah… I gotta..." I crack my eyes open, peering at the spilled water spreading across the flooring. "...Clean that up before Captain Levi… yeah."

"Ah, yes." Silas nods in agreement at my words, staring down at the mess much like me. "Pardon us."

Is it possible for socializing to make a headache worse? Because, that certainly seems like the case. As soon as I halt all words I feel a tiny bit better, though it's so small I wonder if it can even count as something. Despite that, I will cling to it.

Me and Silas are quiet as we clean the spilled liquid, having grabbed some nearby towels. I spare a glance at Silas and take note of the dark rings beneath his eyes. He looks tuckered out. I can only assume that I look the same, especially so because of Obi's earlier comment. My head throbs again and I halt all thoughts. I feel as if I'm going to pass out. The last thought that runs through my mind is the possibility of whether or not we can sneak off somewhere well-hidden to sleep. That certainly sounds heavenly. _An undisturbed sleep._

An extra pair of hands make me pause in dragging the old rag across the floor. I look up, seeing Nifa helping me and my brother clean. When our eyes meet, she smiles.

"What are you doing?" I murmur in question.

"Helping you clean." She responds like it's obvious. Of course, it's obvious, _but…_

"Why?" Silas steals the word from my mouth.

"Because you guys look like you could use some help."

"Help?" I repeat, sitting on my knees and staring at her blankly.

"We don't need help." Silas says along with me, his voice blending perfectly with mine.

"Sure," She rolls her eyes at us sarcastically. It's a playful gesture, but my eyes narrow the tiniest bit anyway. "I heard what happened yesterday with you both and the Commander."

"Everyone knows." Obi butts in, crossing his arms and staring down at us. He's not helping us, and that makes me feel content yet angry. We don't need help, but if anyone should be helping us, it should be him— _Wait._

My body goes rigid and my eyes widen. There is a noticeable tremble in my appendages. I'm gazing downwards at the small puddle that is still beneath me, seeing my aghast face staring right back at me. Their words replay in my head. _Everyone knows what happened?_

The events of yesterday come rushing at me, hitting me harshly like a kick from Levi. Being treated like a dog, our first ever loss, now being stuck beneath Erwin's thumb. I curl my fingers into tight fists. Now that I really think about it, there were plenty of witnesses to that. The word must've spread, and that doesn't sit well in my stomach the slightest. I barely hear Nifa shushing Obi.

"Anyways," She starts up again. "You both seem like—"

"That we could use your pity?" Silas grumbles lowly, glaring at her.

"That is also something else we don't need." I finish, keeping my gaze downcast.

"Let me finish! It isn't a lie that I pity you both though." Nifa straightens up and crosses her arms with a pout. "But, I was going to say it seems like you two could use a friend."

"A friend?" Me and Silas repeat, and Obi groans loudly.

"Yes, a friend. You both do know what that is, don't you?" She asks, tilting her head slightly.

"Of course, we do." Silas responds evenly. "A friend is a companion."

"Yes. Someone you are attached to, a matter of personal regard and such." I look up with glaring eyes. "Do you take us as fools? Why wouldn't we know what a simple thing such as a 'friend' is?"

"Additionally, why do we seem like we could use one?" Silas jabs a finger at her, and her expression dulls. "Me and Ren are loners. Understand? As if we would need anyone else in our lives."

"It has always been just us, and just us is all it'll ever be." I smirk, jabbing one finger at Nifa much like Silas, but also using my other one to point at Obi. "Unless you both aspire to be like us? Too bad for you—"

"Why would we want to be losers like the two of you?" Obi butts in, jabbing his finger at me in return. "Look, do you want to be friends or not? Answer with a 'yes' or 'no.' Or, is that too hard for you?"

"You should watch your—" Silas begins only to be cut off by Obi.

"I said answer with a 'yes' or 'no.'"

"You are not the boss of us!" I spring onto my feet, taking what I hope to be intimidating steps towards him.

"I have more seniority here."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Silas stands up as well, moving so he's by my side.

"Everything." Obi answers.

"No. It does not." I correct. "Also—"

"'Yes' or 'no.'" Obi cuts me off just like he did to Silas.

"Why?" Silas mumbles, his amber orbs growing wide in bewilderment. "I cannot understand why you are doing this."

"What do you mean?" Nifa asks, rising onto her feet and staring at us both with furrowed brows.

"We are not nice people. Why? Why would you want to be friends with us?" I start up and my hands move over my chest. "What would you gain from that? It makes... no sense."

"So, is that a 'no' then?" Obi asks.

"No, it isn't." I instantly reply. "I can't decide because I can't understand."

"Are you trying to manipulate us somehow?" Silas takes a single step forward. "What is your goal?"

"...To be your friend?" Obi replies, looking at us both oddly. "Why is that such a big deal?"

"You guys just always have your guard up, huh?" Nifa shakes her head lightly and closes the gap between us. Her hands grab ahold of mine and Silas's.

I take note instantly at how warm and soft her hands are. My eyes are wide as I stare at my hand in hers. She squeezes our hands lightly, making us both look up at her. She's smiling kindly, and the sunlight streaming through the window highlights all of her pretty features. _It's almost as if I'm looking at…_

"There's nothing wrong with having a friend. We could have so much fun together and make so many great memories." She beams, showing her perfectly white teeth. "What do you say, then?"

"We're not implying that we have to be together constantly." Obi crosses his arms over his chest. I look his way. "You both are too annoying for that. But, considering we're both on the same squad, that's kind of unavoidable. Better friends than enemies, I guess."

"But… I'm not here to make friends or enemies." I say quietly.

"This is pointless." Silas adds on.

"There is nothing to gain from either…" I trail off when Obi grabs mine and Silas's hand as well. His eyes nonchalantly stare into mine, occasionally looking Silas's way to get the point across to him as well.

"Yes… or no?" Obi repeats.

The sunlight shines onto his form as well, making his simple green eyes look more like rare emeralds. This strange feeling fills my chest. There is no mistaking it. I look down at our hands. The throbbing of my head makes itself known again and my eyes squint against the light. Despite that, it's evident to me. _It really is almost as if I'm looking at…_

"...Angels?" Me and Silas mutter simultaneously.

"...What the hell are you guys on?" Obi grumbles and releases our hands like we are cursed.

Everything that transpires next is almost like a blur to me. Somehow me and my brother end up sitting at a table with Obi and Nifa, along with the rest of Squad Hanje. Obi is sitting on my right and Silas on my left, Nifa the next chair over from him. Keiji is sitting across from us, along with four other men who apparently go by the names Moblit, Rashad, Lauda, and Abel.

The blinding sunlight from the window I'm facing makes my eyes squint and throb, consequently making it difficult for me to take in these soldiers' appearances. Eye strain and a headache… _a most unpleasant combination._ I stare into my fresh new cup of water, forcing myself to keep the shock off of my face at my own reflection.

There are dark bags beneath my drooping and bloodshot eyes, which even I can't deny looks the very definition of disgusting. It seems I was right about looking the same as my brother. We are the mirror image of each other, after all. But, to be in such a pathetic state in front of so many people really does irk me like nothing else.

"Are you both sure you're not hungry?" Nifa asks, leaning forward in her chair and looking between me and Silas with a small frown.

"Yes." Silas answers, his hand clutching at his forehead as he winces. It's evident he has a headache too. Neither of us have an appetite right now either.

"Don't worry." I add on, lowering my head so my uneven bangs fall over my face. "We may not look it, but this is nothing."

"We're totally fine. Just act as if…"

"We weren't here." I grumble, my head nodding as I fight the urge to sleep.

Everyone does exactly what we requested; to go on about their lives like we don't even exist. It is nice to be unbothered. No words are being directed towards us and nobody even looks our way. It's actually quite peaceful. I lower my eyelids. _So very peaceful…_ It remains that way until I feel someone's hand stroking my hair.

"Aw…" A familiar voice coos. "Is my wittle Reni sleepy~?"

"Mmph…" I grumble, slowly raising my eyelids.

I can hardly see anything due to my hair having fallen over my face. However, I am able to make out the wooden table my cheek is pressed against. My body ices over in an instant. _When did I lay my head down?_ More importantly, who is messing with my hair? Did I fall asleep? With a gasp, I shoot upwards with widened eyes. Shooting upwards like that was a big mistake.

My head throbs more intensely, and my actions make the person messing with my hair laugh loudly. Before I can even lash out at them, my stomach churns. With how empty it is, it makes me feel nauseous. My throat clenches and I bring my hand over my mouth. Hands suddenly cup my cheeks and turn my head.

"Whoa, Reni." Hanje's face greets me. I should've known it was her. "You don't look so good."

When my stomach settles down, I reach up and wordlessly remove Hanje's hands from my face. I turn away from her, sitting up straight in my chair and gazing forward into icy blue eyes.

"Your concern is unnecessary…" I trail off, blinking a few times.

My hands move to rub at my eyes to be sure that who I'm looking at is actually there. He is, _which is just my luck_. The sunlight behind him is making it hard for my strained eyes to distinguish him. It takes me a moment longer to realize everyone that was previously at this table left. Silas is sleeping next to me, resting against the table like I was. I let out a sigh, lowering my head. Holding it upright requires more energy than I have at the moment.

"Commander… Squad Leader..." I begin weakly. "Greetings..."

"Greetings to you too!" Hanje responds instantly in glee. Her voice is so loud it makes my ears ring, and it also succeeds in waking Silas up. He sits up with a groan, clutching his head.

"Be quiet…" He mumbles. "Please… I'm trying to sleep."

"Aw, is my wittle SiSi sleepy too?"

"Yes." Silas grumbles, glaring at her. "How dare you interrupt our slumber?"

"Right." I lower my eyelids in irritation. "Waking us was quite rude—"

Something bangs harshly into mine and Silas's chairs, making them slide forward with a cringe worthy sound. The edge of the table rams into mine and Silas's midsection, making us gag with widened eyes. We both hunch forward in pain and I briefly see stars.

"How dare you two brats sleep when you're supposed to be training?" Levi's voice sounds from behind us and we both pale.

"W-We apologize!" Me and Silas spout simultaneously, straightening up despite our queasy stomachs while bringing our fingers to our forehead in a salute.

"Erwin, Hanje," Levi begins in obvious irritation. "How many times do I have to tell you to just be firm with these little shits?"

"A-Ah, s-so…!" I begin in false excitement, my hand moving over my mouth when I feel nauseous once more. The only reason I'm even speaking right now is to try and quell the tiny man behind us. "W-What's the agenda for today? We're very eager to get…" My throat burns. "...S-started."

"Y-Yes… so please," Silas gurgles, his empty stomach getting to him as well. His own hand moves over his mouth and he slouches forward slightly. "Hurry and inform us of our task."

"When was the last time you two have eaten?" Erwin suddenly asks, making my eyes meet his stoic ones.

He's gazing at me seriously, but on top of that seriousness is some sort of calmness. It's almost remedying and I don't understand how. I try desperately to tear my eyes away from his to no avail, and I'm much too tired to sustain the anger I have towards him. I'm currently powerless against him and perhaps it has always been that way.

"I can't remember." I whisper, lowering my hand into my lap. "Maybe… Oh. It was when you gave us those peaches. I think..."

"Wait..." Silas mumbles. "Didn't we eat yesterday? Or… was it the day before that?"

"...Don't know." I finish.

Erwin stares at me and Silas, and a heavy silence lingers in the air. It's evident he's thinking about something, but what that is isn't something I can figure out.

"Your task for today is to tend to yourselves." Erwin says, his eyelids lowering as he stands. "Eat and rest. Your training will continue tomorrow."

"W-Why?" I pathetically reach out towards him, confused at his words. "Why would you be so kind to us?"

"It makes no sense." Silas forces himself to stand. "After all the trouble we have caused you, why?"

"Sick dogs are of no use to me." Erwin answers, walking off.

"Sick… _dogs?_ " I repeat in a monotone before growling, springing upwards onto my feet. "How dare you?!"

A mistake. A giant mistake. This time I can't hold it down. That sudden and swift movement I performed is all it takes for it to erupt. The warm acid burns at my throat and splatters onto the floor, and all I can do is cough and gag. This is just as embarrassing as it is humiliating.

"Ew, Reni!" Hanje grunts in disgust.

•○●○•

I stare up at the ceiling, my eyes only being halfway open. All the tiny dents and grooves on the wood ceiling are apparent to me, even the wispy cobwebs. Being by the window, I can hear the faint chattering of soldiers just outside. I lower my eyelids, draping my arm over my eyes.

Only after I cleaned up my own humiliating vomit at Levi's strict order was I escorted to the women's barracks by Hanje. Silas was escorted to the men's by Levi. I hate how I have to be separated from my brother. We were inseparable until we came up here it seems.

I've eaten a small amount along with Silas before we actually departed from the mess hall, and now we have been given the opportunity to rest. I'm so very tired. I should be sleeping right now but my mind is wide awake.

Even though I thought I somewhat got over yesterday's loss by chatting with Silas, it's eating away at me with so much force. Is Silas still awake right now? It's tempting to give him a mental nudge, but in the end I don't. If he's sleeping or on the verge of it, I don't want to disturb him. I need to sleep.

The sooner I do so, the sooner I can reunite with my brother. The sooner we reunite, the sooner we can remove ourselves from the list of losers and reclaim our first-place title. That inspiration of mine alone is all it takes for me to drift away.

 _Sleep..._

I've always enjoyed sleeping and taking naps. I'm able to dream of impossible things and stretch my wings without limit. Sleep was one way of escaping the dreariness of the underground, but it was also a curse. Dreams that occur in sleep are far too easy to get lost in. The world around me and people had me on edge. There was no time to truly dream, and as result I've become a very light sleeper.

I awake to footsteps just beyond the door leading into this room of bunks. I sit up groggily, having only been asleep for a few hours. _Too few of hours._ Judging from the different angle of sunlight pouring in through the lone window, it's safe to say the sun is now on the far end of the sky.

One female soldier followed by more walk in, obviously ready to wind down for the day. When they see me, they pause. Some look fearful, some look surprised, some look like they don't care, while others look angry at my presence. One of the fearful faces I see belongs to Merritt, and it's not all that surprising.

"What are you doing on my bed, _worm?_ " A rather tall brunette girl practically spits out. I sigh lightly and hop from the top bunch as she stomps over. Did she call me a "worm" because I'm from the underground? Clever.

"Oh, this was your bed?" I question through a yawn, walking past her to take my leave. With all these people, I no longer want to be in here. "No wonder it stunk."

A faint chuckle, a cough, and a gasp of surprise is what I hear. Then, a bruising grip is on my arm. My fingers curl into tight fists and my teeth grit when I'm yanked back. The moment my form is forced to turn around, I see a fist soaring right towards my face.

Angling my head, I dodge the punch, and turning my body while lifting my leg, I send a swift kick into her side with enough force to make her slam into a nearby bunk. Her grip on me is no longer there and I straighten up, rubbing at my arm while my entire body trembles angrily.

Normally I wouldn't stop there. I can take words thrown at me to some extent and am often able to fire back with my own, but once someone puts their hands on me it's a different story. It takes all my strength to force myself to leave the room without turning back. Merritt cowers away the moment I walk on by.

I can't sense Silas's cognitive presence, and when I try to tap into his vision I hit a brick wall. He's either sleeping or denying my request. The latter is unlikely. Is he able to sleep peacefully in the men's barracks? I feel a little envious if he's able, yet also disappointed that he would trust unknown people enough to slumber around them.

My head still throbs, and my stomach growls as it angrily lets me know the food I put in it earlier wasn't enough. Perhaps there is some dinner in the mess hall, but I don't want to be around anyone, and I don't want to risk running into Erwin of all people. A deep crease forms in my brow at the thought of him, and my jaw locks. Immediately I halt all thoughts.

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going, as I'm just walking aimlessly. I head up to the top floor where the number of doors grow less, and where it's as quiet as dawn. It's rather dusty up here, which makes me wonder if Levi doesn't know if this floor exists. With how much of a clean-freak he is, the current state of this hallway I'm traveling down baffles me.

There's no windows and it's dark, nearly pitch black. The average person wouldn't be able to see where they are going, but for me it's no problem. It may be dingy, but I can see clearly. Soon enough, I reach the end of the corridor and find myself in front of the door. I boldly open it.

Fresh air. That's what I'm greeted with the moment the wood door creaks open. I step out into the fading sunlight, standing atop this brick castle. Being so high up makes me feel like I'm on top of the world. It's a feeling just as wonderful as the time I first seen the stars with my brother.

I close the door softly behind me, breathing in deeply and filling my lungs with the chilling air. It soothes me all over. I'm alone up here and I'm more than satisfied at that.

My feet carry me towards the risen brick perimeter that acts as a protective barricade for the purpose of protecting someone from falling off. I lean against it, my palms resting atop the cold brick as I peer over the ledge.

The few soldiers that are left out here are starting to head inside. Them not being my main interest, I don't keep my eyes lingering over them for long. I stare out into the horizon.

The dullness of the clouds above me fade into soft warm tones the further they stretch into the horizon. Rays of light peak through any openings, shining down onto the world in a way that's almost dreamlike. It's almost as if the sun is saying "see you soon" as it disappears for the night. Once the sun does disappear, so do the clouds.

I climb onto the brick rampart, sitting atop it and letting my feet dangle over the edge. Maybe some people would view this as "dangerous," but I've done similar things in the underground along with things even more concerning.

With the sun fully gone now, there is a more prominent chill in the air. Even though I'm wearing my green cloak goosebumps still sprout to life across my skin. It feels nice. I'll take this over the muggy air underground with zero complaints whatsoever. I can feel my headache starting to quell.

My amber eyes gaze up at the sky, watching in absolute wonder as stars start to appear one by one with the moon following promptly. How day changes into night leaves me breathless, and I find myself wishing deeply that Silas was sitting next to me, especially when that same shape from the night before reveals itself. Somehow, it's more beautiful now.

This view is the most stunning one yet, although I can't bring myself to admire it as much as I would like. Once again, previous events invade my mind and an unpleasant shiver shoots down my spine.

Did I really swear myself to that man, and nearly say aloud that I would offer up my heart for him only? Silas too. I lower my head, bringing my hand up so my fingers get lost in my loose strands of hair. We've always dreamed of coming to the surface, but not once did I think we would get caught up in a situation like this.

Getting rid of the Titans was an obvious and inevitable part of truly gaining freedom but swearing ourselves to a despicable man and getting our first ever loss was something I could not foresee. We're on the list of losers and no longer inhabiting the first-place spot. My eyes shut.

Before we do anything else, we need to reclaim our number one title. If not, we can't obtain true freedom like we really want. What good are we if we can't win the games thrown at us? At this point we're just dead weight. We need to improve drastically if we want to win this game of life, which is clearly easier said than done. But, we'll definitely do it. There's no way we won't.

"That's why when tomorrow comes, we'll prove everyone wrong." I whisper aloud to myself, leaning back on the heels of my hands while closing my eyes. I draw in a deep breath and tilt my head back. "From here on out, no more losses."

•○●○•

I slept on the rooftop, all alone and uninterrupted. It was heavenly. Nothing but the sound of nature surrounded me, and I was able to dream of many things, one of those being an endless stretch of blue—the ocean I read about but have yet to see. I wonder if it'll measure up to the image I have of it in my head once I see it in person.

I stretch as I walk through the quiet headquarters of the Survey Corps. As of right now I'm in a pretty good mood. That peaceful sleep did numbers, and I feel refreshed and ready for action. I smile softly to myself, more than ready to reclaim the first-place throne. However, I need to find Silas to do that. Where is he?

It's very early in the morning, before sunrise. By how quiet it is and how I don't even smell the slightest trace of breakfast being made, it's obvious everyone is still asleep. I have a strong feeling Silas is awake, though. Knowing him, he's probably outside somewhere.

The moment I start to head towards the nearest door leading outside, I feel a tug in my head. Silas wants to see where I'm at. I grant him access to my sight, and he grants my access to his when I request it. What I see through his eyes makes me falter in my step.

"What?" I breathe out, sprinting full speed.

I burst through the door and run towards his location, the sun only now just showing signs of rising. My feet carry me swiftly through the tall and damp grass, and I see Silas soon enough.

"Silas!" I call out to him, and he turns around with a frown. Other than that irked expression he wears, he looks well rested. I come to a stop beside him, hunching over to catch my breath. Once I do, I straighten up and look ahead at the same time he does.

The round and wooden pens that our horses were being kept in are empty. Whenever the wind blows, the opened gate swings open wider with a loud creek. My eyes narrow and I bring my finger to my chin.

"Fleabag and Pansy are gone?" I inquire. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know, but I have a pretty good idea." Silas steps forward, crouching down and pointing at an obvious footprint. "It looks like someone let them out."

I crouch down next to him to examine the muddy print for myself. It's a mark that clearly belongs to a human being. Upon further inspection, I can conclude that there was only one person present.

Whoever it was left the building and headed straight for the pens, then once they opened them they headed straight back inside. There is no fresh food or water in the pen, or any signs of the horses being led to the stables. In fact, I see a double trail of muddy hooves leading far off into the horizon.

"It seems someone is trying to sabotage us." I speculate, and he nods in agreement.

"Yes, trying to start a war." He brings his hands to his hips, turning towards the building. "A war they won't win."

"Indeed." I point at the human footprints. "Let's follow these tracks first to see if we can figure out who is responsible."

"Lets."

We begin our hunt quietly and with keen eyes, following the trail of muddy footsteps all the way back inside. They lead us down a hallway or two before the mud grows less and less. When the trail ends, we aren't led to anyone. Instead, we are left standing in the middle of the dark corridor.

"The trail ends here." I state. "Unfortunate."

"Yes. However," Silas crosses his arms over his chest and I mimic him. "We now have their shoe size memorized."

"Vital information."

"Not as vital as to where the beasts could've possibly run off too."

"Finding them is going to be tough." I let my arms fall back to my sides. "This would be a wonderful opportunity to get new beasts, but that's no fun. We need Fleabag and Pansy in particular in order to rise to the top."

"Agreed. After all the time we put in to trying to tame them and after all the trouble they've caused us, as if I would let them get away. Taming them will make us even more legendary."

"Should we track them down now, then?" I ask, my brows furrowing together. "And, are we even allowed to leave without permission? We'll get penalized for sure."

At that, silence hovers in the air and we stare at each other in all seriousness. The urgency of finding those beasts quickly skyrockets, but so does something else. The two of us grin and spin around on the balls of our feet, marching down the hall.

"Ah, who cares?" Silas shrugs. "We've already been penalized. Additionally, the Head Honcho would probably make us go out and find them anyway."

"Yeah." I nod with a skip in my step. "Honestly, things can't get any worse. And if we don't find them, we'll be letting whoever let them loose win."

"And…" Silas's eyes meet mine, and our grins grow even wider as we cheer simultaneously.

"We get to explore!"

•○●○•

"Erwin!" Hanje bursts through his office door, making him pause in his current task of looking over papers. He gazes at Hanje's panicked and dare he say heartbroken expression. Lowering the stack of papers in his hands, he stands.

"What is it?" He asks, watching as she stumbles forward and breathes heavily like she just got done running for hours. Her hands slap onto his desk and she peers up at him seriously. Her next words make him indignant.

"The twins are missing!"


End file.
